With Valentines Day coming up, take the opportunity to learn about the origins of the holiday and check off history, religion, geography and social studies for today!
For younger kids, this is a great book about Saint Valentine by Robert Sabuda with beautiful mosaic artwork:
Older kids can learn about Valentines Day from it’s pagan Roman roots, through its Christianization, to modern times and modern profit (roses, chocolates, cards).
That means you can expand this study into ancient Rome, Early Christianity, and modern commercialization if desired.
This History Channel Video is very brief but covers all of that. Be aware that it mentions ritualistic animal sacrifice and then the slapping of fertile women with strips of the dead animal’s flesh. So there’s that. Use your parental judgement!
I would also suggest having your children look up the word “vestiges” in a dictionary before watching this video:
January 31, 2023
Thank you!