February 14 VALENTINE'S DAY The ancient Romans loved games and festivals. They were either preparing for or enjoying some sort of festival or celebration just about every day of the year! In the process, the ancient Romans "invented" the origins of many of the fun holiday activities we enjoy today. The ancient Roman festival called Lupercalia honored love. On this day, young people in ancient Rome chose future marriage partners by drawing names from a hat. Can you imagine choosing your husband or wife by drawing a name from a hat? As you might guess, some of these relationships did not turn out very well and did not last very long. But some worked out very well. Some couples stayed married for life. Cupid has played a role in the celebration of love for a very long time. To the ancient Romans, Cupid was the son of Venus (the Roman goddess of love & beauty.) In ancient Greece, Cupid was known as Eros, the son of Aphrodite (the Greek goddess of love and beauty.) For Teachers  Free Presentations in PowerPoint format Yakaberry - Free Reading Hour Lesson Plans & Activities for Tots, Toddlers, Preschool, and School Age Love is in the air (4 lessons, unit) Valentine's Day worksheets (great) Valentine's Day Lesson Plans & Ideas K-12 Valentine's Day classroom activities February Valentine's Day from ABC Teach (not just for little ones - K-8) Valentine's Day Teaching Tip Lesson Plan (Dev Teachers) Valentine's Day (Lesson Plan Page) & Saint Valentine's Day (language arts lesson) Valentine's Day Quiz St. Valentine's Day Lesson Plan (ESL)   For Kids  Valentine's Day PBS Kids Valentine's Day Valentine Symbols Valentine's Facts and Superstitions Saint Valentine's Story Kennel of Love (youthonline) Valentine's Day Game (vocabulary)  An Animated eCard for Valentine's Day    All Rights Reserved Counter start date January 2006     Have a great year!