Valentine's Day is celebrated in honour of a Roman priest named Valentine who lived in the 3rd Century. The Emperor at that time, Claudius II, banned marriages because he believed that married men made worst soldiers. Valentine didn't accept this law and married couples in secret. When the Emperor found out, Valentine was sentenced to death. While he was in prison, he fell in love with the jailer’s daughter and just before he was put to death, on 14th February, he wrote a final love message to her and signed it “From your Valentine”. Not long after his death, Valentine was made a saint.
The story of Valentine quickly spread and it soon became tradition to send a card to the person you secretly admired. The cards were always signed “From your Valentine”. The first commercial cards appeared in the mid 1800's. Today, we send over a billion Valentine cards each other, 70% of them sent by women.
Valentine's Traditions
- Hundreds of years ago in England, many children dressed up as adults on Valentine's Day.
- In Wales wooden love spoons were carved and given as gifts on February 14th. Hearts, keys and keyholes were favourite decorations on the spoons. The decoration meant, "You unlock my heart!"
- In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their valentines would be. They would wear these names on their sleeves for one week. To wear your heart on your sleeve now means that it is easy for other people to know how you are feeling.
- In some countries, a young woman may receive a gift of clothing from a young man. If she keeps the gift, it means she will marry him.
- Some people used to believe that if a woman saw a robin flying overhead on Valentine's Day; it meant she would marry a sailor. If she saw a sparrow, she would marry a poor man and be very happy. If she saw a goldfinch, she would marry a millionaire.
- A love seat is a wide chair. It was first made to seat one woman and her wide dress. Later, the love seat or courting seat had two sections, often in an S-shape. In this way, a couple could sit together -- but not too closely!
- Think of five or six names of boys or girls you might marry, As you twist the stem of an apple, recite the names until the stem comes off. You will marry the person whose name you were saying when the stem fell off.
- Pick a dandelion that has gone to seed. Take a deep breath and blow the seeds into the wind. Count the seeds that remain on the stem. That is the number of children you will have.
- If you cut an apple in half and count how many seeds are inside, you will also know how many children you will have.
Valentine's Symbols
Valentine's Day has acquired over the years many different symbols or things that represent love and romance. See some of them in this video.
