ESL WORKSHEET - Valentine’s Day

LESSON PLAN FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS

ORIGINS OF VALENTINE’S DAY

(Updated Lesson)

LinguaHouse

Feb. 5, 2025

Level: Upper-Intermediate (B2-C1)
Type of English: General English
Tags: Celebrations and Special Events; Historical Events; Relationships; Speaking; Vocabulary Lesson; Article Based; 13-15 Years Old; 16-18 Years Old; 18+ Years Old
Publication date: 02/05/2025

In this refreshed audio-aided lesson, students read about the origins of Valentine’s Day and how it became connected with love. The lesson ends with a speaking activity where students discuss Valentine’s Day traditions in their home countries.

• CLICK HERE to download the student’s worksheet in American English.
• CLICK HERE to download the teacher’s lesson plan in American English.
• CLICK HERE to download/listen to the audio in American English.
• CLICK HERE to download the student’s worksheet in British English.
• CLICK HERE to download the teacher’s lesson plan in British English.
• CLICK HERE to download/listen to the audio in British English.

AUDIO TRANSCRIPT

When did Valentine’s Day start?
The origins of a romantic tradition
Valentine’s Day is celebrated in many countries on the 14th of February. Around the world, it is an important cultural and commercial day, where people send cards and give presents to their partners, or people they would like to date. However, it was originally a Western Christian feast day that honored several saints called Valentinus or ‘Valentine’. One legend says that Valentine was a priest in Rome in the third century. The emperor at the time, Claudius II, decided that marriage should be banned for young soldiers as they fought better without wives and families. Valentine objected to this rule and continued to marry couples in secret. When his actions were discovered, the emperor ordered that Valentine be put to death.
Some stories suggest that Valentine was killed because he helped Christians to escape from Roman prisons. When in prison himself, he fell in love with a girl who may have been the jailer’s daughter. He sent her a letter before his death, signing it "from your Valentine", an expression which people still use today. While some people believe that the day is celebrated to mark Valentine’s death or burial, others think that the Christian church placed it in the middle of February because of the pagan festival of Lupercalia, hoping to make it more Christian. Celebrated on the 15th of February, Lupercalia was a fertility festival for the Roman god of Agriculture, Faunas. During the festival, a goat was sacrificed for fertility, and a dog for purification. The goat’s skin was dipped in blood and both women and crop fields were hit gently with it. Women wanted to be touched by this, as it would make them more fertile in the coming year. All the young women in a city would also put their names in an urn, and the city’s bachelors chose a name. The matches often ended in marriage.
The day didn’t become associated with romantic love until the 14th century when Geoffrey Chaucer wrote a poem to celebrate the first anniversary of the engagement of Richard II. The poem mentions the time of year as one when birds choose mates. In France and England at this time people believed that the middle of February was the beginning of the mating season, so this added to the idea that romance should be celebrated at this time of year. By the 18th century, it had grown into a day where lovers gave flowers, offered sweets and sent handwritten cards to show their love, much like today. In Europe, Saint Valentine’s Keys are still also given as a symbol to unlock the giver’s heart. Since the 19th century, mass-produced greeting cards have replaced handwritten notes and poems. In the US, around 190 million Valentine cards are sent each year. In 2015 in the UK, $2.3 billion was spent on Valentine's cards and gifts, with just under half the population buying something for Valentine’s Day.
Valentine’s Day traditions and dates vary around the world. In South Korea, women give chocolate to men on February 14th, and men give non-chocolate sweets on March 14th. In Finland, Valentine’s is called "Friends Day", which is more about appreciating friends. In Brazil, the day is known as "Boyfriends’ and Girlfriends’ Day" and is celebrated on the 12th of June.

Adapted from: https://www.linguahouse.com/esl-lesson-plans/general-english/work. Accessed on February 10, 2025. LinguaHouse.com © 2008–2025. All rights reserved.