Valentine's Day

English Vocabulary

Valentine's Day is celebrated on February 14th every year. However, it is celebrated in different ways by different people. For single people - those people without a boyfriend, girlfriend or partner - Valentine's day is often seen as an opportunity to ask or invite someone special for a date. It could be a special girl or boy, woman or man, that you have been interested in. They sometimes approach the other person and ask; 'Will you be my Valentine?' or may even just send a card saying the same thing.

Things you can do on Valentine's Day

Many people go on special dates for Valentine's Day. The date could be a romantic, like a candlelit dinner (with candles instead of electric light), where maybe you will cook the meal or it could be a visit to a nice restaurant instead.

Some people have a picnic, where you take food and drink and a picnic blanket, and eat outdoors.

Other popular places for a first date include the cinema, walking in the park, looking at the stars together, and maybe even a breakfast meal!

You could choose to ask your date to do something exciting, something interesting, or just something special with you.

Even for couples (people who are going out with or married to someone) which have been together for six months, or sixty years, often make a point of going out together to do something special on Valentine's Day.

Valentine's Day should involve some romance. Romance is something that happens in the process of courtship, which is a old-fashioned way of describing what a man or woman does in order to impress or make another person fall in love with them.

Typical Valentine Gifts

Boyfriends and Girlfriends often give a Valentine's Day card to each other, writing a poem or special note to show their appreciation.

Common gifts or presents that are given include stuffed animals (teddy-bears) with cute slogans and love-hearts on them. A love-heart is the red symbol of a heart. Sometimes you will see cupid on cards too. This is a little angel that looks like a very young boy that makes people fall in love by shooting them with his arrows.

Roses are given by hundreds of thousands of people on Valentine's Day. Roses may be sent in secret - with a card from the 'Secret Admirer', that is, the person who admires (likes) the recipient, but doesn't want to say who they are.

You will find that some people buy a box of chocolates for their loved one.

If the person is lucky, they may even receive a ring which could led the giver to proposing marriage to the person they love.

Valentine's Day Origins

There are a number of beliefs about the origins of Valentines Day. It seems to relate to some Roman traditions and some catholic traditions. There is a story that it originated to celebrate the life of a priest who is now a saint, who married people in secret, when young men were banned from getting married. Apparently the priest fell in love while he was in jail, and he wrote her a Valentines Day letter, telling her of his love.

There are also the belief that Valentine's Day was originally a pagan celebration of fertility.

The oldest known valentine poem was written by the Duke of Orleans to his wife while he was in jail in 1415.

Whatever the case, and whatever your current situation, you can enjoy being a Valentine, in any romantic way you choose!

Valentine's Day Vocabulary

admirer (noun): Someone who has a particular regard for someone or something; a person who is attracted to another person.

• Roxanne already knows that Andrew is her secret admirer.

arrow (noun): A thin stick with a sharp point at one end and feathers at the other to help guide it when shot from a bow. Cupid shoots arrows at people to make them fall in love.

• I think Marion has just been struck by one of cupid's arrows.

balloon (noun): A colored rubber sack inflated with helium (or air) and used as decoration.

• The kids enjoyed trying to keep the balloons floating in the air without them touching the ground.

bouquet (noun): An attractively arranged bunch of flowers generally held together by a ribbon and given as a gift.

• Robert gave his wife a beautiful bouquet of roses for her birthday.

card (noun): A piece of thick paper or thin cardboard with a message which is sent for greetings or invitations.

• Margarita received a Valentine's card from a secret admirer.

chocolate (noun): a (sweet) brown food made from ground cacao seeds.

• I absolutely LOVE getting a bar of chocolate as a present.

couple (noun): two people who are married, engaged or closely associated in a relationship.

• Jack and Jill make a lovely couple.

Cupid (noun): A mythological child with wings that uses a bow and arrow to make people fall in love.

• A person, or even a deity, who is shot by Cupid's arrow is filled with uncontrollable desire.

date (noun): a romantic meeting (or activity) between two people.

• Every Friday they go on a date to keep the magic alive in their relationship.

dinner (noun): The main meal of the day, generally eaten in the evening.

• They had dinner at their favorite restaurant to celebrate their anniversary.

engaged (adjective): have agreed to marry each other at a future date.

• They have been engaged for three years and will finally get married next month.

February (noun): The second month of the year. (Remember to write the months of the year with a capital letter)

• Valentine's Day is in February.

feeling (noun): An emotional state or reaction

• He confessed his true feelings for her.

flower (noun): The often brightly colored part of a plant from which the seed or fruit develops.

• He picked a flower from the garden to give to his wife.

fourteenth (adjective): The ordinal number: 14th

• Valentine's day is on the fourteenth of February.

friend (noun): A person you know and have a bond of mutual affection (excluding family members or partners).

• She spends every afternoon after school playing with her friends in the park.

friendship (noun): a relationship between friends; the state of being friends.

• I really value our friendship.
• Our friendship is important to me.

gift (noun): A thing given willingly to someone without payment. Another word for gift is present.

• I gave my neighbor a gift as a way of saying thank you for her help yesterday.

happy (adjective): The feeling of pleasure or contentment.

• I know she is happy because she has a huge smile on her face.

heart (noun): The organ that pumps blood through the body. It is normally associated with love.

• Steve bought his partner a giant balloon in the shape of a heart.

hug (noun): Squeeze someone between your arms, typically to express affection.

• She hadn't seen her son in a long time and gave him a big hug.

kiss (noun): To touch your lips against something (generally other lips) as a sign of affection or greeting.

• The mother kissed her baby on the forehead.

love (noun/verb): an intense feeling of deep affection

• You can tell that a person loves you by the way they treat you.

poem (noun): a piece of creative writing in verse which is often rhythmical.

• He wrote a beautiful poem expressing his feelings for his partner.

restaurant (noun): a place where people pay to sit and eat meals that are prepared there.

• Most restaurants are full on Valentine's Day so make a reservation in advance.

ribbon (noun): a long, narrow strip of fabric, usually used for tying or decorating something.

• The gift had a red ribbon around it.

ring (noun): a small circular band worn on the finger, typically made of a metal and that sometimes contains precious stones.

• He bought a beautiful engagement ring and was going to propose to his girlfriend that night.

romance (noun): a feeling of excitement and mystery associated with love.

• No matter how long you have been together, romance is always important in a relationship.

romantic (adjective): conducive to or characterized by the expression of love.

• They had a romantic candlelit dinner.

rose (noun): a sweet-smelling flower that grows on a bush and usually has thorns. The most common rose is red though they come in a variety of colors.

• Our secretary received a bunch of roses for Valentine's Day.

secret (noun/adjective): not meant to be known or seen by others.

• She has a secret but won't tell me what it is.

Other English expressions about Valentine's Day

to fall in love (verb): To be very attracted to someone and begin to love them.

love at first sight: The instant and extreme romantic attraction for a stranger the first time you see them.

I love you: A phrase used to express to another person the maximum level of love you feel for them

Next Activity

Try our Valentine's day Game.

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