History of Valentines Day
There is conflicting history of the origin of Valentine's Day, but
the common thread among them all is that it was begun by a martyred
patron saint, Valentinus, or Valentine.
One story says that Valentine defied Claudius Caesar by continuing
to perform marriages for young couples in secret. Claudius had outlawed
marriage for young men because he wanted to draft them into the army.
Another story states that he was killed for helping Christians escape
Roman prisons where they were tortured and killed.
A legend states that Valentine sent the very first Valentine card to
a jailor's daughter he fell in love with while in prison. He signed it,
"From your Valentine." This expression is still used today.
Some people think that Valentine's Day was celebrated in the middle
of February to remember the anniversary of Valentine's death around 270
A.D. It is also possible the Catholic Church tried to 'christianize'
the pagan festival called Lupercalla. Lupercalla was a festival
dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture. In the early days of
the festival, houses were cleaned and then salt and wheat was sprinkled
on the floors. Sometimes animals were sacrificed. Late in the day all
the young women in the area would place their names in an urn. Later,
the area's bachelors would pick a name out of the urn to be paired up
for marriage.
Pope Gelasius officially declared February 14 as St. Valentine's Day
around 498 A.D. The pagan system of marriage was outlawed and in time
became a day of romance. Valentine's Day first became popular in
Great Britain in the 17th century. Friends and lovers exchanged notes
and tokens of affection. Later, printed card replaced the notes. The
oldest Valentine in existence is a poem by Duke Charles of Orleans to
his wife while he was imprisoned.
In 1644, Bishop Saint Valentine was declared the patron saint of
Terni, Italy. They dedicated him one day out of the year. Every
February 14th, Terni citizens hold a feast around the Basilica in town.
(see picture on the right)
The body of Saint Valentine is still at Terni where it can be seen by tourists. He was beheaded on
February 14 on Via Flaminia Road at night in order to avoid a riot.
Today, around one billion Valentine's Day cards are exchanged with
85% of them by women. However, men outspend women many times over on
this day because they buy flowers, chocolate, and many other items.
Valentines Protests
Not all people or religions celebrate Valentines Day. In fact, there are some that revile the holiday and protest it every year. In India, activists of the right-wing Hindu organisation the Shiv Sena posed in front of a burning placard during a demonstration denouncing Valentine's Day in Amritsar on February 13, 2012. See below:
Thanks to India art teacher Kamla Ravikumar for the image above. See another image here.
Lessons
Probably the most frustrating part of this day for an art
teacher is the fact that frequently teachers and administrators will
ask the art teacher to have the kids make hearts or other uncreative
items. Instead of doing them in their classroom, they expect the art
teacher to spend the time doing this. One of the objectives of this
page is to provide some resources so that you can make your Valentines
Day lessons a little more creative.
Some of the lessons below incorporate art with other subject areas. These lessons are for all subject areas.
Ideas for Valentine Art Lessons
Valentine Art
Valentines Links
Valentines Activity and Craft Books
