Valentines Day for Kids - Ancient Roots, Modern Holidays Illustration

Valentines Day for Kids
Ancient Roots
Modern Holiday

Valentines Day For Kids - Ancient Roots

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.

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.

But the start of Valentine's Day was not fun. There are several saints named Valentine. One St Valentine lived in ancient Rome about 300 years after the birth of Jesus. The emperor at the time outlawed Christian marriage ceremonies. St Valentine continued to marry people anyway in the Christian way. He was arrested and killed. To honor him, February 14th became known as St Valentine's Day, so people would not forget his bravery. Over time, it simply became known as Valentine's Day.

People began sending each other valentine love letters in Europe around 1400 CE. Some added lace and buttons and tried to make them pretty and even more special. It caught on. Today, sending Valentine's cards on February 14th, to celebrate friendship and love, has become a custom in many countries including England, France, Canada, and the United States.

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.) Here is one myth about the ancient Greek god Eros:

Eros (Greek name) and his Magic Arrows (ancient Greek myths for kids)
Roman name: Cupid

Eros was the little son of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. Like his mother, Eros helped others to fall in love. Aphrodite had many ways to do this. Eros had only one. When Eros shot his little arrows into an unwary victim, that victim fell in love with the very next person they saw! His magical arrows worked on gods as well as mortals. You can imagine how much trouble that caused!

His arrows, however, did not work on himself. As he grew up, he had hoped he would fall in love and live happily ever after as did many of his victims. He tried many times to fall in love, but he could not. His mother could have helped him. She was very good at making people fall in love. But no one was good enough for her son, not in Aphrodite's opinion anyway.

Eros was very lonesome until one day things changed. Read the charming myth of Eros & Psyche to discover how Eros finally found happiness. The Charming Myth of Eros & Psyche

Valentine's Day Free Online Interactive Games!

Primary Games  for Valentine's Day - lots of them!

Valentine Shooters Game

Heart's Connect - Puzzle Game

Love Pig Puzzle Game