Valentine’s Day is a special day to appreciate your loved ones. Every year on February 14th, gifts, candy, and sweet messages are all exchanged to show appreciation and love. Valentine’s Day is a fun holiday, but it has a very interesting history as well. Many people believe that Valentine’s Day is celebrated to honor the death of the famous Saint Valentine, and that it was originally a pagan festival. Some people believe it is associated with a Christian holiday to celebrate fertility. However, the most common story about Valentine’s Day starts during the third century with a priest from Rome named Valentine. During this time, Christians were persecuted. Young men were not allowed to marry because of their emperor, Emperor Claudius ll. He believed that single, unmarried men would be more useful to him because they would be better soldiers for his army. Valentine believed the Emperor was wrong. He started to secretly marry young couples despite what the Emperor wanted. However, he was caught and put in jail, and later ordered to be executed. Before he died, he helped to heal the daughter of the man who imprisoned him. He sent her a note, signed “From Your Valentine”, which is now a common phrase today. Sadly, his sentence was carried out on February 14th, but he left an imprint on society. He was and is remembered as a symbol of love and the integrity of marriage.
While the history of Valentine’s Day is very unique, it’s not as interesting as what’s happening at Lake Park for the holiday and after! Our activity directors have some very special things planned. They work very hard to ensure holidays and events at Lake Park are enjoyable for everyone. For example, Ms. Hamaan, one of our activity directors, says, “The goal of activities is to create a positive environment where all students can feel included and connected to Lake Park through the holidays and the school year!” Some of these activities this year for Valentine’s Day include: At East Campus, Sophomore Class Council will be selling Valentine’s Gram’s. At West Campus, Girl Up will be selling pink lemonade. Other activities around this time include Sky Zone on February 16th, and Winter Spirit Week from February 18th to the 21st. Then, we have the Winter Dance from 6 to 9 PM at Lake Park West on February 22nd. Take part in something fun at Lake Park this coming month!
