A few years ago I received a boxed set of books from Voice of Martys and was surprised to pull out the title, “Valentine: God’s Courageous Evangelist.” Growing up, I had always thought of February 14 as just a fun holiday on the calendar that served as an excuse to break up the long winter months in between Christmas and Easter by exchanging candy, hearts, and flowers.
But according to legend, there was a man named Valentinus who lived at the time Claudius II was Emperor of Rome. In order to force more men to serve in his army, Claudius had made a decree that there would be no more marriage ceremonies and men would be forced to live under his military service for 25 years.
“Valentine was performing marriages for these young soldiers or these young Christian couples to be free to marry according to God’s design. He was performing secret ceremonies for the Christian couples against the emperor’s edict endangering his own life. And so, eventually, Claudius found out the priest was arrested and condemned to a threefold martyrdom on February 14th, beating, stoning, and beheading. So this is a very graphic and sad story and maybe not what you expected. It doesn’t sound like Valentine’s Day with the roses in the hearts, but one thing it does show us is a level of love. Not just romantic love, but a love for others and a willingness to lay down one’s life in order to preserve their affection for one another. “ -Phylicia Masonheimer
I think even with our culture’s commercialized approach to this holiday, it is still possible to take these stories from church history and better pass them on to our own children. It’s my hope that when they hear someone say ,”Happy Valentine’s Day!” they think back to the story of Valentinus and the sacrifice he made to love others more than himself.
Here’s just a few simple things we do that I hope will inspire you to think creatively about this holiday.
Meaningful Traditions
Last year I tried making these door love letters that we displayed in our kitchen and they turned out so cute! This was such a good practice in affirming and building others up (and honestly showed me we need way more work on this as a family). The kids were asked to contribute to everyone’s poster and made us think more on character compliments we could give each other and ways we see God at work. I post these up early in February and we continue adding to them all month. On the actual day, I love to pull out this mini heart waffle maker and do a waffle bar with fun toppings (or busy mom tip: I’d make the waffles ahead of time, freeze them, and pull out that day for a quick breakfast.) At some point we’ll gather around the table and read Valentine: God’s Courageous Evangelist. Again, if you only read one book to your kids centered on Valentine’s Day, make it this one! This year I plan to print a few pictures of this St. Valentine’s coloring page for the kids to do while I read. My husband typically gets the kids a small treat from the store and they make cards to give to their friends, but that’s it. Keep it simple!
Books to own
These are books I’d recommend actually owning
- St. Valentine the Kindhearted
- Valentine: God’s Courageous Evangelist
- A Child’s First Book About Marriage: God’s Way is Always Best
- Like Me
Books to borrow
These are ones I like to read with my kids just for fun. Most of them I probably wouldn’t be able to find on the shelves of my local library, so I like to use inter-library loan to reserve these titles. If you’re not sure how that works, make sure you ask your local librarian!
- Construction Site: You’re just Right
- 14 Cows for America
- Bear’s New Friend
- Little Blue Truck’s Valentine
- Thank you, Mr. Falker
- Snowy Valentine
- Llama, Llama, I love You
- The Berenstain Bears Valentine Blessings
- Somebody Loves You Mr. Hatch
- Click Clack Moo, I Love You
- The Biggest Valentine Ever
- Elmore
Favorite Things + Gift Ideas
Non-candy ideas to share with classmates
- Mini Valentine’s Day notebooks (pack of 24)
- Reusable Valentine’s Day straws (pack of 24)
- Probiotic Yoggies (pack of 30)
For a teacher (all $15 or less)
- Personalized glass cup + lid or these teacher glass cups
- A set of these pens
- Baked goods (cinnamon rolls, cookies, bread) from a local bakery
- Canva tote bag for books
- This picture book by Laura Wifler
Instead of flowers (or for a significant other)
My husband and I don’t do big Valentine’s Day gifts or expensive flowers, but it can be fun to exchange something small. Instead of flowers I like to ask for others things like books (shocking I know!). Fun things for him would be a mug warmer for his desk at work or a fancy milk frother to make him lattes on the weekend.
- Electric mug warmer (for him)
- Electric Milk Frother (for him)
- A Million Tiny Moments (for her)
- The Simplified Cookbook (for her)
Remembering the Persecuted
If you live in America, it’s easy to forget these things are STILL happening in places all around the world. Here’s some ways to learn more of how you can pray for the church.
*For more on the history behind this holiday, check out this post and podcast episode by Phylicia Masonheimer, Who Was Saint Valentine.
Little Roots Co. 
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