It is said that St. Valentine was a priest and doctor who, at one point, had a young, blind girl under his care. It is also said that St Valentine would take the girl on long walks where they would pick flowers for her to smell.
Taking a cue from their walks, a nature walk with those you care about seems an ideal way to celebrate part of St. Valentine's Day.
That is just what my children, some friends, and I enjoyed last year on Valentine's Day: a St. Valentine Potluck Picnic and Walk and using a St. Valentine Nature Walk printable that I had whipped up and am sharing now here.
Enjoy a St. Valentine Potluck Picnic!
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| Juice Wiggler Hearts |
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| Gluten Free Muffins with Gummy Ducks (since one of St. Valentine's symbols is birds) |
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| Probiotic Gummy Ducks (since one of St. Valentine's symbols is birds) |
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| Beet Puffs (Red for Love) |
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| Tofu Hearts Filled with Heart-Healthy Vegetables |
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| Clementine Hearts |
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| Black Rice with Tofu Hearts |
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| Seaweed Snack Hearts |
Learn about St. Valentine with a Nature Scavenger Hunt!
You can also enjoy a St. Valentine Nature Scavenger Hunt using the FREE printable here.
On it, kids can sketch what they find, check things off as they take photos of them, or write notes about what they find.
Ideas for things that can be searched for and discussed are:
- something that offers comfort: In 3rd such Rome, Emperor Claudius II persecuted Christians. It is said that St. Valentine and St. Marius comforted fellow Christians during the persecutions.
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| Checking out roots. |
- an interesting root: As a doctor in the 3rd century, St. Valentine likely made medicines by pounding and grinding roots and other natural things.
- an herb or edible plants: St. Valentine was a doctor and priest. He likely made poultices using herbs and plant matter.
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| Entwined Things. |
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| More Entwined Things |
- two entwined things: In the 3rd century, Emperor Claudius II wanted to increase his troops. He believed single men made better soldiers than married ones, so we forbade young men to marry. St. Valentine defied Claudius edict and encouraged young couples to come to him in secret to be joined in the sacrament of marriage.
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| Snow can be converted into water, the kids said. |
- something that can be converted: After St. Valentine was arrested for illegally marrying couples, he is said to have been brought before Claudius, who was impressed by him. Claudius attempted to convert St. Valentine to Roman Paganism, but, instead, St. Valentine attempted to convert Claudius to Christianity.
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| This cool pattern frozen into the ice made the kids think that you could "write" messages on ice. |
- something you could write a message on: When imprisoned, St. Valentine was said to be tended by a jailer, Asterius, and his blind daughter, who was very kind to St. Valentine, bringing him food and messages. St. Valentine and the girl developed a friendship and, toward the end of his imprisonment, Valentine was able to convert both her and her father to Christianity.
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| A tree growing around a wheel sure seemed interesting! |
- something beautiful or interesting to look at: It is said that Asterius’ daughter was blind and St. Valentine miraculously restored her sight.
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| It's a heart! |
- something with a heart-shaped: It is said that before his execution St. Valentine wrote a farewell message to Asterius’ daughter to thank her for her friendship and encourage her in her love for Christ and that he signed the message affectionately "From Your Valentine.” This phrase lives on even today.
On the nature hunt printable, there is also a "free space" for St. Valentine, whose patronage includes affianced couples, against fainting, bee keepers, betrothed couples, engaged couples, epilepsy, fainting, greeting card manufacturers, greetings, happy marriages, love, lovers, plague, travelers, and young people.
Symbols for him include birds, roses, a bishop with a crippled or epileptic child at his feet, a bishop with a rooster nearby, a bishop refusing to adore an idol, a bishop being beheaded, a priest bearing a sword, a priest holding a sun, and a priest giving sight to a blind girl.
St. Valentine was executed on February 14th, 273 AD in Rome and the valentine has become the universal symbol of friendship and affection shared on each anniversary of the priest's execution -- St. Valentine's Day.
Take Time to Explore!
Of course, part of the fun and blessing of a Potluck Picnic and Nature Walk on St. Valentine's Day is simply being with those you love and care about and letting explorations take you where they will.Here are some snapshots of the fun we had exploring.
It truly was a blessed and beautiful St. Valentine celebration!
I pray with our FREE printable and inspiration from the snapshots and explanations here, you might enjoy a similarly blessed and beautiful time.
St. Valentine, pray for us!
