月: 2023年2月

This week, all over the world, many people celebrated Valentine’s Day. For many people, this is a special day to celebrate and enjoy love with a boyfriend or girlfriend, with a husband or wife, or with someone you just like a lot. There are no rules for who you can enjoy your Valentine’s Day with.

In Japan, the custom before was for women to give chocolates to men. But in the rest of the world, the custom is for men to give chocolates to women. And sometimes not only chocolates, but also flowers, or a nice letter or poem, or a romantic dinner in a nice restaurant.

Recently, for many people, Valentine’s Day is also a time to give a small gift, or note, or card to a friend. This is also nice, but sometimes at schools Valentines Day can make some trouble, or some unhappy communication, so for students at school it is not a custom to celebrate. That is very reasonable, but let’s also talk about where Valentine’s Day comes from.

What is the history of Valentine’s Day.

The history is not 100% clear, but there are stories about a man named “Valentine”. That was his real name. And Valentine was someone who was in the church and there are stories about how he helped people. Unfortunately, he was killed by Roman soldiers and we only have some stories about his life as a magical healer.

But the legend of Valentine continued. In the U.K., people believed that a magical person, like Santa Claus, came to homes and gave treats and snacks to poor people. It was from this story that people began to exchange chocolates with friends and people they love on February 14th.

Indeed, there are many different stories about this magical “Saint Valentine” and we do not know what is true from long ago. But what we do know, is that February 14th is a celebration of love, and that this idea of love is not only a feeling between two people. There are, in fact, many forms and kinds of love.

The Ancient Greeks believed that there were eight different kinds of love.

The first is “Philia” love. This is the love of deep friendships.
The second is “Pragma” love. This is the love that grows slowly over a long time.
The third is “Stoge” love. This love is the love between parents and children.
The fourth is “Eros” love. This is the love of romance.
The fifth is “Ludus” love. This is a love of laughing and thinking about love.
The sixth is “Mania” love. This is a dangerous kind of love when you can think only about the person you love so, so much. Wow. Be careful!
The seventh is “Philautia” love. This is the love of yourself. To take care and to heal yourself.
The eighth is “Agape” love. This love is the highest kind of love. It is the love for every person, and a love for every thing.

As humans, we feel different kinds of love as we grow older. When you were a child you loved your parents and family members and people around you. When you are a junior high school student or a high school student, love is different. You love friends. You love pets. You love family. And you develop and grow new feelings as well. Sometimes it is wonderful. And sometimes it feels strange.

And when you are older your feelings of love will deepen and grow. Maybe they will always be the same. Maybe they will change. It is difficult to know what will happen to feelings we have now, and love is sometimes very difficult and confusing. Even if you do not know how you feel sometimes, you should know that in this school, and in this place you are someone that is important, and that people love you.

Maybe it’s a good idea not to worry too much about love right now. You have tests coming soon. I am sure that you do not love having tests, but you will love your feeling when you are finished and you can feel free.

This week we have learned of the terrible earthquake that came to Turkey and Syria. The first reports are very shocking and like many people around the world we are very worried about the people who live in those countries.

At this time, the report is that over 5,000 people have been killed in the earthquake and there are many people who are very badly hurt as well. The number of injured people is over 20,000. The problems in Turkey and Syria will become worse. The winter in that part of the world is quite cold, there is huge damage to gas and electrical systems, and even hospitals are damaged. In addition, many buildings in Turkey and Syria are not designed for earthquake safety so there is danger in many buildings that are partly damaged.

Turkey and Syria are parts of the world with a very long and deep history. They have been multicultural nations and are at the center of European and Middle East history, culture, and philosophy. But in recent years these two countries have been aggressive to other people, have governments that do not support equal rights, and who have many social problems.

There are many differences between our countries and those countries. But this is not the right time to argue about that. We have a lot that is the same between our countries too, so it is very important for the world to work together and to make plans for how we can help them.

More than ten years ago there was a terrible earthquake and tsunami that came to Japan. The damage to the Tohoku region was unbelievable and deeply shocking for everyone. People in Japan understand the feelings that the people in Turkey and Syria are having now. We share the same experience and can have a deep understanding of our shared humanity.

When we study history and culture we learn about other people. We learn about the many things that are different. We have different skin, or eyes, or food, or language. Those differences are mostly because we live in different places, and come from different cultures. But there is much, much more that makes us similar.

All humans have red blood. All humans have arms and legs. All humans have brains, eyes, noses, ears, mouths, and feelings. People all over the world study and work. They go to school. They go to their jobs. They have friends and pets. They have families. They have music they like. They watch TV and Youtube and TikTok. They have humor and fashion and food that they like. Just like you and just like me.

When we look at the media sometimes we see pictures of people in other countries as dangerous, or like monsters. And while it is true that many other countries in the world are not as clean and safe as Japan, it is also true that there are people all over the world who are very similar to people in your country and in my country too.

If we can understand that people from other cultures and countries are similar to us we can have natural human feelings to them as well. Every woman in Turkey and Syria is someone’s mother, daughter, sister, or friend. Every man in Turkey and Syria is someone’s father, brother, son, or friend.

At this time we are still getting more information about the terrible earthquake in those countries. We know that the numbers of people who have been killed will increase. We will need to find ways to help them too. The road to change and recovery will be long, but if we can understand how we share the same humanity and share the same planet, we have a better chance for healing, cooperation, and world peace too.

This week we have learned of the terrible earthquake that came to Turkey and Syria. The first reports are very shocking and like many people around the world we are very worried about the people who live in those countries.

At this time, the report is that over 5,000 people have been killed in the earthquake and there are many people who are very badly hurt as well. The number of injured people is over 20,000. The problems in Turkey and Syria will become worse. The winter in that part of the world is quite cold, there is huge damage to gas and electrical systems, and even hospitals are damaged. In addition, many buildings in Turkey and Syria are not designed for earthquake safety so there is danger in many buildings that are partly damaged.

Turkey and Syria are parts of the world with a very long and deep history. They have been multicultural nations and are at the center of European and Middle East history, culture, and philosophy. But in recent years these two countries have been aggressive to other people, have governments that do not support equal rights, and who have many social problems.

There are many differences between our countries and those countries. But this is not the right time to argue about that. We have a lot that is the same between our countries too, so it is very important for the world to work together and to make plans for how we can help them.

More than ten years ago there was a terrible earthquake and tsunami that came to Japan. The damage to the Tohoku region was unbelievable and deeply shocking for everyone. People in Japan understand the feelings that the people in Turkey and Syria are having now. We share the same experience and can have a deep understanding of our shared humanity.

When we study history and culture we learn about other people. We learn about the many things that are different. We have different skin, or eyes, or food, or language. Those differences are mostly because we live in different places, and come from different cultures. But there is much, much more that makes us similar.

All humans have red blood. All humans have arms and legs. All humans have brains, eyes, noses, ears, mouths, and feelings. People all over the world study and work. They go to school. They go to their jobs. They have friends and pets. They have families. They have music they like. They watch TV and Youtube and TikTok. They have humor and fashion and food that they like. Just like you and just like me.

When we look at the media sometimes we see pictures of people in other countries as dangerous, or like monsters. And while it is true that many other countries in the world are not as clean and safe as Japan, it is also true that there are people all over the world who are very similar to people in your country and in my country too.

If we can understand that people from other cultures and countries are similar to us we can have natural human feelings to them as well. Every woman in Turkey and Syria is someone’s mother, daughter, sister, or friend. Every man in Turkey and Syria is someone’s father, brother, son, or friend.

At this time we are still getting more information about the terrible earthquake in those countries. We know that the numbers of people who have been killed will increase. We will need to find ways to help them too. The road to change and recovery will be long, but if we can understand how we share the same humanity and share the same planet, we have a better chance for healing, cooperation, and world peace too.