St. valentine's day (feb 14th)
ELEMENTARY LEVEL
Vocabulary
1329010473_val.jpg | |
File Size: | 179 kb |
File Type: | jpg |
Story of Valentine's Day
Let me introduce myself. My name is Valentine. I lived in Rome during the third century. Rome was ruled by an emperor named Claudius. I didn't like Emperor Claudius.
Claudius wanted to have a big army. Many men just did not want to fight in wars. They did not want to leave their wives and families. He had a crazy idea. He thought that if men were not married, they would join the army. So Claudius decided not to allow any more marriages. Young people thought his new law was cruel.
Did I mention that I was a priest? One of my favorite activities was to marry couples. I kept on performing marriage ceremonies -- secretly, of course. It was really quite exciting.
One night, we did hear footsteps. It was scary! Thank goodness the couple I was marrying escaped in time. I was caught. I was in jail and told that my punishment was death.
Many young people came to the jail to visit me. They threw flowers and notes up to my window. They wanted me to know that they, too, believed in love.
One of these young people was the daughter of the prison guard. Her father allowed her to visit me in the cell. Sometimes we would sit and talk for hours. On the day I was going to die, I left my friend a little note thanking her for her friendship and loyalty. I signed it, "Love from your Valentine."
I believe that note started the custom of exchanging love messages on Valentine's Day. It was written on the day I died, February 14, 269 A.D. Now, every year on this day, people remember. But most importantly, they think about love and friendship. And when they think of Emperor Claudius, they remember how he tried to stand in the way of love, and they laugh -- because they know that love can't be beaten!
Claudius wanted to have a big army. Many men just did not want to fight in wars. They did not want to leave their wives and families. He had a crazy idea. He thought that if men were not married, they would join the army. So Claudius decided not to allow any more marriages. Young people thought his new law was cruel.
Did I mention that I was a priest? One of my favorite activities was to marry couples. I kept on performing marriage ceremonies -- secretly, of course. It was really quite exciting.
One night, we did hear footsteps. It was scary! Thank goodness the couple I was marrying escaped in time. I was caught. I was in jail and told that my punishment was death.
Many young people came to the jail to visit me. They threw flowers and notes up to my window. They wanted me to know that they, too, believed in love.
One of these young people was the daughter of the prison guard. Her father allowed her to visit me in the cell. Sometimes we would sit and talk for hours. On the day I was going to die, I left my friend a little note thanking her for her friendship and loyalty. I signed it, "Love from your Valentine."
I believe that note started the custom of exchanging love messages on Valentine's Day. It was written on the day I died, February 14, 269 A.D. Now, every year on this day, people remember. But most importantly, they think about love and friendship. And when they think of Emperor Claudius, they remember how he tried to stand in the way of love, and they laugh -- because they know that love can't be beaten!
Read some facts about this holiday and some curious traditions on that day
the_story_of_valentines_day.ppt | |
File Size: | 979 kb |
File Type: | ppt |
INTERMEDIATE TO ADVANCED LEVEL
valentines_curiosities.pptx | |
File Size: | 2160 kb |
File Type: | pptx |
cloze_valentine_interm.doc | |
File Size: | 57 kb |
File Type: | doc |