A short article from the old "Harvest Times" newsletter I used to produce for home educators in the Bangor area. I debated adding more to it, it is quite short (there was limited spaced in HT), but I decided to leave it as it is, including the jokes at the end ~smile. I found the vintage Valentines on Pinterest.com. Aren't they great?
Valentine's
Day, A Holiday of Love
by Penni
Hill
Why do we celebrate Valentine's Day? Where did the customs we use
today come from and when did they begin? There are several ideas of why we
celebrate Valentine's Day the way we do.
Thousand's of years ago, February 15 was the day the Romans held a
festival to honor one of their gods, Lupercus. It was a day of games, music and
dancing. This was also the day the Roman’s had their “love raffle”. The names
of young women were written on pieces of paper and put into a jar. The young
men would draw out the name of their sweethearts for the coming year.
On February 14, 269 A.D. a Roman priest named Valentine was put to
death for teaching about Christ. In 496,
Pope Gelasius named Valentine as a saint and made February 14 a special day to
honor him.
Over the years we have combined many of the customs of these two
holidays. Today, we consider Valentine’s Day as the holiday of love. We send
beautiful cards of love, give chocolates and flowers, and have romantic evenings
out. It is definitely a day for romance, but is romance love?
1 John
4:7-10 gives us the definition of true love. "Beloved, let us love one
another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and
knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was
manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten
Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we
loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son [to be] the propitiation for
our sins."
This
Valentine's Day, let’s remember the man for whom this holiday was named and why
it was named for him. And on this day may God’s love through His Son Jesus
Christ become real to you.
Valentine
Activities (for children and families)
Make some
Valentine cookies. Put them in a pretty box and take them to an elderly
neighbor or someone you know who is sick. Be sure to include a Valentine with a
verse from God’s Word on it.
Visit a
nursing home and take along Valentine’s you have made for all the patients
(call ahead for exact number). While there sing love songs such as “Love Lifted
Me”, quote scripture or put on a skit that tells what love really is.
Study about
the human heart. Draw a picture of what a real heart looks like and learn how
it works. Learn how to take your pulse rate.
Do a study
on chocolate. When was it first made? What exactly is it made of? What place in
the world makes the most of it? Where do most of the cocoa plants grow that we
get our cocoa from here in the USA?
Be sure to
send your loved ones a valentine this February 14. Why not take this chance to
let them know how much they really mean to you!
Valentine
Jokes
from the book "Valentine Fun" by Judith Stamper
1. How do
vampires fall in love?
2. Which
month has twenty-seven days?
3. What flower
is used most on Valentine’s Day?
(Answers at the bottom of page)
Knock,
knock.
Who’s there?
Olive.
Olive who?
Olive you.
Answers to
jokes
1. It's love
at first Bite
2. All of
them
3. Tulip
Happy Valentine's Day!
