Not only are some people unaware that Valentine's Day originated from a great saint, Saint Valentine, but I think more people do not know that today is the feast day of two other saints who were brothers in Greece in the 800s.  Their names are Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius.  You can ready more about these saints' fascinating and inspiring lives HERE.






Now onto Saint Valentine...He was another great saint whose name and contributions have sadly been forgotten in our commercialized world filled with cards, candy, chocolates, and flowers.  My cupcakes do get excited about this day and they enjoy exchanging Valentine cards and candy with their homeschool friends, but I'm glad we also talk about the person behind this fun day.  Here's a little about Saint Valentine from Happy Saints:

St. Valentine (3rd Century AD) was a holy priest and bishop who lived during a time when Christians were not welcomed in the Roman Empire. He helped many who were imprisoned or were hiding from Roman soldiers. In the end, St. Valentine himself was captured and killed for his faith. He died on February 14, which became known as St. Valentine's Day.

St. Valentine's Day became a lovers' holiday because it was said that St. Valentine was killed for marrying Christian couples. Another tale had him writing letters of encouragement to the jailer's daughter when he was in prison.

What is important is that St. Valentine loved as Jesus loves. Jesus loves us so much He sacrificed His Life to save us. Likewise, St. Valentine risked and lost his life while helping others through selfless love. Let us love each other as Jesus loves us!

Download a free St. Valentine Printable Card here:
http://www.parousian.com/victor/HappySaintsStValentineCard.pdf

Today our Catholic Homeschool group gathered for our annual Saint Valentine's Day party.  Each child brought in store-bought/homemade Valentines to share with their friends after they decorated a white lunch bag for themselves.  Each child also decorated a white bag to be donated to a child at a local outreach ministry and cards and candy were put in the donated bags from the children.  So in the spirit of Saint Valentine our children shared their friendship and love to another child through the donated bags.  After we all said a prayer together it was time to start the festivities.  Here are some pictures from our fun day: 


 Here are two bags one of our students made, one to be donated and one for her Valentine treats.

The bags on the left were lined up and were the ones the children made to be donated, while the picture on the right shows all the children's decorated bags from our homeschool group.  


Then it was time for everyone to line up and drop their Valentines into their friends bags and goodies were put into the donated bags as well.  


Besides the bag decorating and Valentine deliveries, the kids were also excited about the snack items all the families brought.  I brought these "berry" sweet, easy, and healthy strawberry hearts that were devoured, especially by my son!  Clean, pull stem, cut in half, use paring knife to cut a small "v" at top = berry sweet treat!  

Here is a collage of some other sweet treats: 




Here are some ways we have celebrated Saint Valentine's Day in years past.  Just click on title to take you to the post:

We {Heart} Jesus and Valentine Crafts (2010)

Happy Saint Valentine's Day! (2011)

Happy Saint Valentine's Day! (2012)