Valentine's Day

by Alice K. Flanagan, Shelley Dieterichs (Illustrator)

Explains the origins and meaning of Valentine's Day, describes the development of holiday customs around the world, and suggests thing to do on Valentine's Day.

32 pages, Library Binding

First published August 1, 2001

About the author

Alice K. Flanagan has written books on many subjects. Exploring Parks with Ranger Dockett is just one of her books about jobs. Many children enjoy her books about birds. She has also written books telling about different Native American groups.

Reviews

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this because it's really informational and gives readers the history of the holiday. I love learning about history and there were so many fun facts about the beginnings of Valentine's Day that I hadn't known before reading.

It's a bit disappointing that the origin isn't really known and there are different stories out there, so you don't really know what's true. It's something we'll never know and people can only guess.

The illustrations are really cute and colorful. They're simple and not detailed, but they work. They're pleasant to look at and I enjoyed them a lot.

I particularly liked the customs of the girls and boys courting on this day. I LOVED those. The illustrations showed a girl sitting down writing on a piece of paper, with a thought cloud showing a boy she was thinking of. And another girl throwing the clay ball into a bucket, and one placing her pot in front of the fire. I really liked the page with the colonial man down on one knee with his white wig and blue coat holding a paper heart up to this woman.

I did have a few issues with it though.
It was a bit uncomfortable that Valentine loved children and gave them flowers from his garden and when he was in prison the kids would leave him flowers and "love notes." The illustration showed a letter with a heart and bird that said "You are a kind man. I love you." Whoa! That was giving me all kinds of creepy vibes. That is not okay to write that children left a grown man love letters and said they loved him! That is crossing a dangerous line.

Valentine wrote the former blind girl a note and said "From your Valentine." That wording made me uncomfortable again! What was happening here?

Cupid wasn't really explained. She said he's described as a chubby baby boy with wings and carrying a bow and arrow. I naturally wondered why he's a boy and winged and shoots people, but there wasn't one explanation for any of those things. It made me wonder how his legend got started.

I was surprised that she wrote that Valentine's Day isn't just a day for sweethearts anymore, that it's a holiday for everyone. I don't see it that way! It feels like a real drag if you're single and that's a major reason why so many people have a problem with it. She suggested for people to make a valentine for someone special and do something special to show a family member, friend or teacher that you care about them. She also suggested bringing flowers to someone we haven't seen in a long time, forgiving someone who's hurt us, which didn't feel like a celebratory action at all, and visiting a neighbor who's lonely or sick. Valentine's Day is so associated with love that I thought these gestures would lead a person on and make them uncomfortable, thinking we liked them or something.


What I learned:
Some people believe it came from a Roman festival 2,000 years ago, called Lupercalia that was in honor of the god Lupercus. Shepherds believed that Lupercus protected crops and animals from wolves. To thank him they held a festival to honor him on Feb 15. At this time February marked the beginning of spring and was later in the year than it is now. On the day before girls would put their names in a jar and each boy drew a name. The girl he got would be his partner for games. Sometimes they promised to marry each other.

Once the Romans became Christians they didn't have the god Lupercus anymore but still kept the holiday, renamed it Saint Valentine's Day in honor of a Christian priest named Valentine. There are stories about him. One says he broke the law, and helped young men and women get married even though the emperor wouldn't let them. The emperor thought single men were better soldiers. Valentine was put in prison and killed on Feb 14, A.D. 269. Christians remembered him and honored him on Feb 14. The Christian Church later made him a saint. He was the patron saint of love.

Valentine was put in prison because he didn't pray to Roman gods and I wondered when this was in relation to him being imprisoned and then killed, if both stories were true or only one.

He made friends with a guard and prayed that the man's blind daughter would see. God answered his prayers and the girl regained her sight. The emperor said he'd free Valentine if he prayed to Roman gods but he refused and was killed.

After Romans became Christians, some moved to other countries and brought their holidays with them. England came to celebrate Valentine's Day and added their own customs. One was girls writing boys' names on pieces of paper and rolling them in a ball of clay. They put it into a bucket of water and when the clay fell apart the names would float up. It was believed the girl would marry the boy whose name made it to the top. In Italy young men and women met in flower gardens and listened to music and read poems. In Austria, Hungary, and Germany it was a religious feast day for boys. They picked the name of a saint and tried to live like them during the year. In France young men and women went to fancy dances and the men gave the women flowers. In Germany girls planted onions in pots to see who their husband would be. They put the name of a boy next to each onion. The pots were placed near a fireplace and they believed they would marry the boy whose name was near the first onion that grew.

When more people learned to read, they sent love letters to their sweethearts. The letters were later called valentines. People decorated them with hearts and flowers, and drew birds and little babies on them. The oldest paper valentine is from 1415, from the Duke of Orleans to his wife when he was prisoner in the Tower of London. The English liked paper valentines. They wrote poems and decorated them with ribbons and lace. Those who couldn't write looked in a book of poems called a valentine writer, which cost a penny.

Most valentines were made by hand. Sometimes people asked artists to make valentines for them. Artists made fancy paper-lace ones. It cost a lot to send a letter by mail, so most people gave their sweethearts their valentines themselves. Later when mailing cost a penny, people started sending valentines, and more people celebrating Valentine's Day.

Valentine's Day came to America in the 1700s. Americans often got valentines from their friends in England, but they didn't have time to celebrate because they were too busy trying to survive. It caught on in America much later. In many of the first American valentines the men asked women to marry them.

Americans liked making "true-love knot" and "endless-love knot" valentines. People drew hearts that connected at the sides on them, and wrote words of love alone the edges of the hearts. There was the "pin-prick" valentine which had holes poked into the edges of the valentines by a sewing needle. "Acrostic" valentines had the first letter of the first word on each line to spell out their sweetheart's name.

Between 1906-1919, valentines were made by a machine. American factories started making cards. Hallmark, American Greetings, and Gibson started at this time.

Hearts a symbol because a long time ago people believed our souls lived in our hearts. Some people thought the ability to think and feel came from the heart. Today we still think this way with sayings like "heartless" if someone is mean and a person has a "big heart" if they're kind and giving.

Flowers are sweet smelling and remind people of love. Red roses smell sweet and are the color of a heart so they became a symbol of love.

Cupid is the son of Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty, and the son of Mars, the god of war. He was happy and wanted others to be happy. He shot invisible arrows into people's hearts and made them fall in love.

Birds are about spring and mating. People in the past believed that birds chose a mate on Saint Valentine's Day, because the holiday was closer to spring back then. Spring is when birds mate and build nests. People liked to draw doves on their cards. Doves symbolize love because they sit together and they make gentle, cooing sounds to each other.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

It starts out saying Valentine’s Day is an American holiday, but as you read, you learn that it started in Europe, and didn’t make it to America until the 1700s.

Some people believe Valentine’s Day came from a festival the Romans celebrated over 2,000 years ago. It was called Lupercalia, in honor of the Roman god Lupercus.
Roman shepherds thought Lupercus protected their crops and animals from wolves. To thank him, they held a feast in his honor on Feb. 15th.
The roman calendar was different from ours, and came later in the year. At the feast of Lupercalia, the romans also celebrated the beginning of spring.
The day before Lupercalia, girls would put their names in a jar. Each boy would draw a name, and whoever he chose would become his partner for games. Sometimes, they promised to marry each other.

The festival changed when the romans became Christians. They no longer believed in Lupercus. They wanted to keep the holiday, but decided to rename it Saint Valentine’s Day in honor of a Christian priest named Valentine.
There are different stories of him. In one he broke the law by defying the emperor and marrying his soldiers, even though the emperor wouldn’t let soldiers marry, believing that single men made better soldiers. Valentine didn’t agree and helped couples get married. The emperor put him in prison and on Feb 14th, AD 269, he was put to death.
Christians never forgot his courage, and honored him on Feb 14th, thinking about what he did for love.
Later, the Christian church said he was a saint. A saint was described as a holy person who helps others, which I didn’t know. He was called the patron saint of people in love.

Valentine loved children, and flowers, and he had a beautiful garden. He would give children flowers from his garden. One day, Valentine was put in prison because he wouldn’t pray to the roman gods. Children brought flowers to him in prison, tossing them through the bars of his window. They would put love notes on the flowers and draw birds and flowers on the notes.
Valentine made friends with the prison guard, whose daughter was blind. He prayed her sight would be restored. God answered his prayers. The emperor said he’d free him if he prayed to the Roman gods, but because Valentine was a Christian, he refused. He was put to death on Feb 14th.

Saying that kids wrote Valentine love notes probably wasn’t the best wording. Nor for Valentine to write to the blind girl whose eyesight he prayed would be restored ‘from your valentine.’

Over times Romans became Christians, and some moved to other countries, bringing their holidays with them. Over time people in England celebrated valentine’s day and added some of their own customs.

It’s kind of funny, in England girls would write boys’ names on paper and roll the pieces of paper into balls of clay. They dropped the clay into a bucket of water. The clay ball would come apart, and whoever’s name came to the top would be who the girl would marry.

I liked the custom in Italy where young men and women would meet in flower gardens on Valentine’s Day and listen to music and read poems.

I liked how in Austria, Hungary, and Germany, it was a religious feast day for boys, where they would pick the name of a saint. They would then try to live like that saint for a year.

In France, young men and women went to fancy dances, where the men would bring them flowers.

Similar to England, in Germany girls would plant onions in a pot, and write the names of boys beside each plant and place them by the fireplace. Whoever’s name was beside the first onion to grow would be who they would marry.

Over the years, more and more people learned how to read and write. They would send love letters to their sweethearts, which later came to be called valentines. They were decorated with hearts, flowers, birds, and little babies.
It was really amazing to me that the oldest paper valentine is from 1415 and at the British Museum in London. The Duke of Orleans wrote the valentine to his wife. It said the was a prisoner in the Tower of London, but I wondered if he was a prisoner at the time when he wrote the valentine. I also really wanted to know what it said, and was really disappointed that it didn’t tell us. I would love to see this in person!

The English really liked paper valentines, and would write poems and decorate them with ribbons and lace. People who didn’t know what to write would look in a little book of poems called a valentine writer, which cost a penny.
Most were made by hand, but sometimes, people would ask artists to make fancy paper valentines for them. It was expensive to send letters by mail, so most people delivered their valentines to their sweethearts themselves. Later, when sending mail cost a penny, people started sending valentines. More and more people celebrated Valentines Day.

I liked that it included how valentine’s day came to America, because it started in Europe first. In the 1700s, Americans often received valentines from their friends in England. Americans were too busy trying to survive in their new country, and had no time to celebrate Valentine’s Day. It didn’t catch on in America until much later. I found it sweet how in a lot of the first American valentines, men would ask women to marry them.

Americans liked making valentines called the “true-love knot” and the “endless-love knot.” These were cards with hearts drawn connected at the sides. Words of love were written at the edges of the hearts.
Another type of American valentine was the “pinprick” valentine, which was made by poking holes in the edges of paper with a sewing needle.
There was also “acrostic” valentines, where the first letter of each word on each line spelled out their sweethearts’ names.
Valentines cards eventually were made by machines. American factories started making them between 1906 and 1919. Hallmark, American Greetings, and Gibson other companies started then.

A favorite symbol of valentine’s day is a heart. A long time ago, people thought our souls lived in our hearts. Some people believed that the power to think and feel came from our hearts. Today, we still talk that way, with sayings for mean people such as “heartless,” or for a kind person as having a “big heart.”

Sweet-smelling flowers remind people of love. The red rose has become the flower of love over the years. Many people think red is the best color to represent love, perhaps because it is the color of the human heart.

Cupid was a Roman god. His mother was Venus, the goddess of love and beauty. Cupid’s father was Mars, the god of war. Cupid was a happy god who wanted others to be happy. He shot invisible arrows at peoples’ hearts to make them fall in love.

Birds make us think of spring and mating. In the past, people thought birds chose their mates on Saint Valentine’s Day, and I had never heard that before. Back then, the holiday was celebrated closer to spring, when birds mate and build nests.
People liked to draw doves on their valentines, because they were a symbol of love. They sit together in pairs also.

The celebrations on valentine’s day have changed since roman times. We don’t celebrate spring on February 14th, and it’s not just for sweethearts. It’s a holiday for everyone.

I thought it was cute how it had suggestions of ways kids can celebrate the holiday. They can make a valentine for someone special, bring flowers to someone they haven’t seen in a while, forgive someone who hurt you, visit a neighbor who’s lonely or sick, or do something special for a family member, friend, or teacher to show you care.

There was a glossary at the end, and I thought it was funny how sweethearts was described as ‘lovable people.’ As if people love sweethearts, not that sweethearts are people in love.


This was cute. Very informative. Good for people who probably don’t know the history of valentine’s day. I liked learning the historical information on it, and how it came to be the modern holiday we celebrate today.
The illustrations were cutesy-looking, simple, and almost cartoonish, which will appeal to kids.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

A children's short history on Valentine's Day and it's customs.

Ages: 5 - 9

Cleanliness: nothing to note.

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[Joey Gremillion · Rating 5 out of 5]

Offers great educational history of Valentine's Day.

[Courtney Torrent · Rating 2 out of 5]

This informational text would be good for the higher-elementary grades. For me, there seemed to be a lot of text but limited information. I feel as though the same pieces of information were repeated throughout. However, the information was interesting and would make a good jigsaw activity. Each group of students could have a "chapter" that they then teach to the class. The illustrations were not very engaging, but they supported the text. The front of the book has a table of contents while the back of the book has an index and a glossary.