Valentine’s Day: All About Love

Voice 1:
Thank you for joining us for today’s Spotlight program. I’m Liz Waid.

Voice 2:
And I’m Rebekah Schipper. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

Voice 1:
It happened seventeen hundred [1700] years ago, in Rome. The story says that he was in prison for being a Christian. He performed marriages even though they were illegal. The government captured him and put him in prison. One day the government would execute him. While he was in prison, he met a beautiful girl. She visited his prison cell often. She was the daughter of the prison guard. He and the girl began to pass notes to each other through the prison bars. They loved each other. When it was time for the prison to execute him, he sent her one last letter. The last note he sent to her was a love note. He ended it, “from, your Valentine.” Some people believe that this is the story that started it all.

Voice 2:
You may already know what we are talking about. Today’s Spotlight is on Valentines Day! People all around the world celebrate this holiday devoted to love. They celebrate it in many different ways. But the message is the same everywhere - love! Join us today as we tell about the different ways people all around the world celebrate their love for each other!

Voice 1:
No one really knows if this story about Valentine and the prison guard’s daughter is true. But the holiday is named after at least two [2] men, each named Valentine. Both of these men died because of their faith - one [1] in [the year] 197, and one in [the year] 269. Later, the Christian church recognized these men. Historians have little information about either of them. But, historians do believe that both men died on February fourteenth [14th]. February fourteen [14] became Saint Valentine’s Day - a special day to celebrate their lives. This is the day that many people celebrate as Valentine’s Day.

Voice 2:
Historical documents show that, originally, Valentine’s Day had little to do with love. Ancient Romans did have a fertility celebration in February. But, a recorded link between Valentine’s Day and love did not appear until about twelve hundred [1200] years later.

Voice 1:
In 1382 Geoffrey Chaucer wrote a poem about love. He was a famous English Poet. The poem told about birds coming together half-way through the second month of the year. The birds met on this day, Valentine’s Day, to mate. The poem influenced many people. And soon after, other writers began to use these ideas in their own writing. The link between Valentine’s Day and love became common!

Voice 2:
By the seventeenth [17th] century, Valentine’s Day was a common celebration all over Great Britain. About a hundred years later, people began to exchange small gifts or notes on Valentine’s Day. These gifts were an expression of love between family, friends, and lovers.

Voice 1:
Today, many people still celebrate Valentine’s Day in this way - people in Canada, Mexico, the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Australia. The most popular gift to exchange is the greeting card. It is usually just a simple paper note that expresses love or devotion. A person can send a Valentine’s Day greeting card to his lover, his parents, his co-worker, or even his doctor! In fact, the Greeting Card Association says that world-wide, people send over one thousand million [1,000,000,000] greeting cards every Valentine’s Day!