It’s February 14th, so that means…Happy Valentine’s Day!
Chances are, you’ve heard of this holiday before, but are you familiar with the history of the holiday, some fun tidbits about how it’s celebrated today, or looking for some new ways to celebrate with your children at home?
If so, look no further! This blogpost will take you through all of the above!
History of the holiday
There are a lot of differing stories and opinions on when, why, and how Valentine’s Day got its start. However, most of the information agrees that this day is celebrated (on February 14 of each and every year!) because the Roman Catholic Church honors two saints named Valentine on this day.
Another popular story about Valentine’s Day says that this day is celebrated because there was a well-known priest in history (perhaps named Valentine?) who secretly helped couples to get married when they weren’t allowed.
Allegedly, the oldest date of this holiday being celebrated goes back to Rome in the year 268. It started with a festival where couples would draw names of each other from a box. They had to pair up with the person whose name they drew for the festival…and some even got married afterwards!
A quick search on the internet will lead you to many more explanations and historical stories about this holiday. Which one resonates with you?
Celebrating Valentine’s Day
While Valentine’s Day isn’t a federal holiday, and it isn’t celebrated in many other countries, it is definitely a big celebration in the United States!
Many people use Valentine’s Day as a reason to share love (through a card, a gift, time together, etc.) with their loved ones. It’s a popular day to cherish close friends, family members, and even classmates by sending cards called Valentine’s. It’s also common to make this day special by giving candy (especially chocolate!), flowers, gifts, and jewelry. A lot of couples like to make the day different by going out to dinner together too!
On this day, you’ll most likely see decorations and lots of red, purple, pink, and white hearts. Someone might even ask you to be their Valentine!
Valentine’s Fun Facts
This holiday is the second most popular holiday for selling cards.
In fact, in the United States alone, approximately 1 billion Valentine’s cards are sent every year.
At-Home Valentine’s Day Activities
If you find yourself looking for a new way to make this day special with your kids at home this year, try out some of the simple activities below!
- Decorate a Valentine’s box. Have your child use a shoe box, a cereal box, or any other old box you find and let them use their imagination to decorate it in any way they choose! Do they want to decorate their box in a certain theme or style? As they are given Valentines or treats throughout the day, they can keep them safe in their Valentine’s box.
- Write a Valentine’s poem. Have your child write a poem to give to someone that is special to them. They can even write this poem on a decorated heart-shaped piece of paper!
- Do a Valentine’s Candy Sort. Have your child sort heart-shaped candy or any other candy they’re given on this day. They can sort by color, shape, flavor, etc.! If they want to take this a step further, they can even make graphs of how many pieces of each candy they have, etc.
- Decorate a Valentine’s Heart. What’s most special to your child? Have them create their own heart out of paper (or any other fun project material!) and draw or write on the heart what they love the most or what’s the most important to them. Maybe they want to add a pet, a hobby, a food, a movie, or a book to their heart!
If you’re looking to celebrate the holiday with even more Valentine’s fun (and learning too!), try a one-time class (for FREE!) with Dailies on this holiday! Learn more and register at dailiespods.com.
