En la clase de inglés los alumnos de 3º de ESO realizaron una actividad
para celebrar el día de los enamorados, 14 de febrero. Trabajaron un texto y
realizamos unas tarjetas con varios mensajes de amor.
St. Valentine's Story
Let me introduce myself. My name is Valentine. I lived
in Rome during the third century. That was long, long ago! At that time, Rome
was ruled by an emperor named Claudius. I didn't like Emperor Claudius, and I
wasn't the only one! A lot of people shared my feelings.
Claudius wanted to have a big army. He expected men to
volunteer to join. Many men just did not want to fight in wars. They did not
want to leave their wives and families. As you might have guessed, not many men
signed up. This made Claudius furious. So what happened? He had a crazy idea.
He thought that if men were not married, they would not mind joining the army.
So Claudius decided not to allow any more marriages. Young people thought his
new law was cruel. I thought it was preposterous! I certainly wasn't going to
support that law!
Did I mention that I was a priest? One of my favorite
activities was to marry couples. Even after Emperor Claudius passed his law, I
kept on performing marriage ceremonies -- secretly, of course. It was really quite
exciting. Imagine a small candlelit room with only the bride and groom and
myself. We would whisper the words of the ceremony, listening all the while for
the steps of soldiers.
One night, we did hear footsteps. It was scary! Thank
goodness the couple I was marrying escaped in time. I was caught. (Not quite as
light on my feet as I used to be, I guess.) I was thrown in jail and told that
my punishment was death.
I tried to stay cheerful. And do you know what?
Wonderful things happened. Many young people came to the jail to visit me. They
threw flowers and notes up to my window. They wanted me to know that they, too,
believed in love.
One of these young people was the daughter of the
prison guard. Her father allowed her to visit me in the cell. Sometimes we
would sit and talk for hours. She helped me to keep my spirits up. She agreed
that I did the right thing by ignoring the Emperor and going ahead with the
secret marriages. On the day I was to die, I left my friend a little note
thanking her for her friendship and loyalty. I signed it, "Love from your
Valentine."
I believe that note started the custom of exchanging
love messages on Valentine's Day. It was written on the day I died, February
14, 269 A.D. Now, every year on this day, people remember. But most
importantly, they think about love and friendship. And when they think of
Emperor Claudius, they remember how he tried to stand in the way of love, and
they laugh -- because they know that love can't be beaten!
http://isabelperez.com/St%20ValentineStory.htm
