Tag Archives: Valentine’s day

VALENTINE’S DAY IN THE USA

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Valentine’s day is celebrated in the United States every year on February 14th. There are many stories and legends behind who the real St. Valentine was, but most scholars agree that he was a martyr who was killed by Roman soldiers because he was marrying people in secret at a time when marriage was outlawed.  Later in the Middle Ages, a great writer named Geoffrey Chaucer wrote a poem as a present to King Richard II, who was going to be married soon. In it, he mentioned St. Valentine, and over time, the idea of Valentine’s Day became associated with the idea of love.

During the Victorian times (in the 1800s), Valentine’s Day became extremely popular! Men and women spent a lot of time making beautiful Valentine’s cards with ribbon, fancy paper and even lace. In those days, people were very reserved and they did not often say what they were feeling. Valentine’s day gave them a way to express their feelings to someone they were in love with anonymously.  The sender would remain a mystery until they could speak more freely.

In the last few decades, Valentine’s day has changed a lot! Today we still exchange cards, but many people buy ready-made cards instead. We also give flowers or chocolates as a gift to remind people of our friendship and love for them. Most Valentine’s gifts and cards make use of the colors red and pink, and are decorated with images of hearts or roses. Another common symbol of love on this day is Cupid, the Roman god of love. He is usually shown as a little angel with a bow and arrow. According to legend, anyone who is struck by his arrows will fall in love.

Here are some links with ideas about how you can celebrate and have fun with the children you care for over the next couple of weeks!

Click here for Valentine’s Day Cards, coloring pages, recipes, crafts, games and puzzles: http://www.dltk-holidays.com/valentines/

 

Check out our Au Pair in America Pinterest page for Valentine’s Day for more ideas: https://www.pinterest.com/aupairinamerica/valentines-day/

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Have fun!

VALENTINE’S DAY

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February 14  is Valentine’s Day .

Valentine’s Day is a time of love, friendship, giving,
and caring. Americans use Valentine’s Day as an opportunity to tell friends and family
how much they care. Children usually exchange cards at school.

“Who is St. Valentine”?

Legend has it that Valentine was a priest who served during third century Rome. The Emperor at that time, Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those that were married. With this thought in mind he outlawed marriage for young men in hopes of building a stronger army. Supposedly, Valentine, decided this decree was not fair and married young couples in secret. When Emperor Claudius II found out about Valentine’s actions he had his head cut off making him a martyr of love.  Another legend has it that Valentine was an imprisoned man who fell in love with his jailor’s daughter. Before he was put to death he sent the first ‘valentine’ himself when he wrote her a letter and signed it ‘Your Valentine’, words still used on cards today.

Perhaps we’ll never know the true identity and story behind the man named St. Valentine, but this much is for sure…February has been the month to celebrate love for a long time, dating clear back to the Middle Ages. In fact, Valentines ranks second only to Christmas in number of greeting cards sent.

For some fun children’s activities including crafts, coloring pages, games, puzzles and poems go to:

http://www.dltk-holidays.com/valentines/index.htm

http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/valentines-day/

Also, don’t forget to check our boards on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/aupairinamerica/valentine-s-day/

Valentine’s Day!

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Valentine’s Day, celebrated on February 14, dates back to ancient Rome.

Sending a valentine in the United States is not a serious declaration of love as in some other countries. Children usually send valentines to the other children in their class and to the teacher. Friends and relatives exchange valentines. For that we can thank Esther Howland, a young woman from Massachusetts, who in 1848 started the first mass production of valentines.Now valentine cards and candy are a fun way of keeping in touch with those we care about.

ACTIVITIES:

Make your own valentines: Although many store-bough valentines are designed for children, come in large packs and are quite inexpensive, it is lots of fun to make your own. Pink, red and white paper, crayons or markers and a little bit of imagination are all you need. Dress up the cards with glitter, doilies ,laces ,stickers, or feather if you wish.

Valentine Collage(ages 18 months and older): Prepare hearts of different colors and sizes, ribbon, feathers, etc. Older children can use glue on paper. For younger children tape a piece of contact paper sticky side up securely onto a table. Paper shapes will stick easily to the contact paper.

Heart rubbings( ages 3 years and older):First cut hearts of different sizes from heavy paper. Place those hearts under a blank piece of paper and rub over the shapes using the side of a crayon. The hearts will magically appear.

Valentine’s day Post Office ( ages 5 years and up): Set up your own post office at home. Decorate mailboxes for every member of the family. Use a rubber stamp to show that the valentines have been properly mailed. Deliver to the boxes.