Today is the day many people celebrate by giving cards, flowers, candy or gifts to the ones  they love.   Have you ever wondered why?

To find out, we must travel back into history  to the ancient Romans.

The Romans celebrated the god Lupercalia on February 15 to  ask for protection  in warding off the danger of wolves.  The second is  a myth of   St. Valentine, a priest  who lived in the 3rd century in Rome during the rule of  Claudius II.  The emperor decide he needed more soldiers and that single men were his preference because they would not be missing their wives when off on a campaign.  Being the emperor, he had no restraints and outlawed marriage for all young men of soldiering  age.  The priest Valentine thought it was unfair and chose to marry loving young couples in secret.  Claudius learned of this disobedience and had him thrown into prison and later put to death.  Not sure if he was eaten by the lions!  Tradition is that young couples whom he married left him cards, notes, and flowers when they visited him in prison. Another slightly different version is that Valentine, the priest, while in prison, fell in love with the jailer’s daughter.Before his death, he sent the first ‘Valentine” to his love and wrote her a letter which he signed as  ‘Your Valentine.’  These words are still used on valentines today!

This holiday has been a favorite and celebrated since the Middle Ages.  In my class each year the celebration was a joyful time. Students would bring in valentines. . . .usually generic ones, but sometime in higher grades special cards and even gifts, deliver them into white bakery bags decorated with hearts that perched on each one’s desk. No party is complete without a game or two. 

For the party, moms would come with four favorite ice cream flavors voted on by the students, with cone bowls, and every imaginable topping for the students to load  onto their ice cream!  

Red roses say “I love you !”  I am sure your love would be most happy to receive some from you !  There is still time . . . . . . . 

mages from Wikeopedia and Google images. . . public domain

text fromhttp://www.primarygames.com