By Olga Smolyakova,
Samara
http://archive.1september.ru/eng/2000/no05.htm

ST.VALENTINE'S DAY

Сценарий праздника "День святого Валентина"

Music F. List “Dreamland of Love”
(Lights go down)

A boy:        I shot an arrow into the air

It fell to earth I knew not where,

For so swiftly in its flew – the sight

Couldn’t follow in its flight

I breathed a song into the air

It fell to earth I knew not where,

For who has sight so keen and strong,

That it can follow the flights of a song.

Long, long afterward in an oak

I found an arrow still unbroken;

And the song from beginning to end,

I found again in the heart of a friend.

(A group of students sing a song about love and friendship)

Valentine Card (a girl): Hello, dear boys and girls! Hello, dear guests and teachers! I’m glad to see you all. Do you know me? Have you recognized me?                                          Who am I?

Children in the hall:Are you a cat?

Valentine Card:No, I am not.

Children:Are you a postman?

Valentine Card: No, I am not.

Children: Are you a Valentine Card?

Valentine Card: Yes, right you are! I am a Valentine Card. I am a special greeting for Saint Valentine’s Day, which is a festival of love, affection,                                  romance and friendship for all those people who celebrate this holiday in the European countries and in the United States of America.

I am happy to let all the special people in your life know how much you love them. Since I am here, let’s begin our party!

But where are my helpers – the symbols of love and friendship, I wonder? Flowers, stars, sweets, birds, come here, come here!

(music)

(The 1st or 3d year students are running to the stage)

Song

The more we get together, together, together
The more we get together, the happier we are.
For your friends are my friends, and my friends are your friends
The more we get together, the happier we are.

Valentine Card: Dear friends! I’m happy to see you. Thank you for your song. To begin our party we need our heart to become alive. Our heart must be happy and smiling. I want our heart not to be afraid of love. It must be open to accept love and friendship. So imagine that you are designers and painters. Please, take these small hearts and make our hearts alive.

(music)

(The children are fixing the small hearts on the front wall)

Valentine Card: Thank you. You are good at designing.

(music)

(The children go down from the stage. They take seats in the hall)

Valentine Card: No one really knows the actual origin of Saint Valentine’s Day. I think it has its roots in several different legends that have found their way through the ages.

(music)

(Valentine Card steps aside and sits down on the edge of the stage)

The First Compere: Many historians, however, seem to trace it to an ancient Roman festival called Lupecalia. This celebration was held on February 15th to honour Faunus the god of animal life, hunting, herding.

(music)

The Second Compere: I’d like to tell you another legend about this holiday. When the Roman Emperor Claudius II needed soldiers, he made a law against marriage. Claudius believed that single young men made better soldiers, and marriage would make men want to stay at home.

A kind priest, Valentine by name, saw the love of young couples, so he married them secretly against the law.

But Valentine was discovered and condemned to death.

The First:Condemned to death?

The Second:Yes, he was condemned to death.

(music)

The Third Compere: Another legend says that Saint Valentine was a good friend of children. He was a Christian. He would not worship the Roman gods. That’s why he was put into prison. While he was there the children that he had befriended missed him and brought him loving notes.

Even in prison Valentine showed his love for everyone.

(music)

His jailer had a young daughter who was blind.

The First:Blind?

The Third:Yes, his daughter was blind. And Valentine performed a miracle. He cured the jailer’s daughter of her blindness. Just before his death on February 14, he sent a farewell letter “From your Valentine”.

(music)

Valentine Card: May be that’s why we exchange friendly caring messages on this day. And throughout the ages it is a day when boys and girls, sweethearts and lovers, husbands and wives, friends and neighbours, and even office staff exchange greetings of friendship, affection, and undying love.

The First: One of the earliest popular symbols of the day was Cupid with his bow and arrow. It goes back to Roman times too. Here is the story the Romans told about him.

(music)

(Story-teller, Cupid, Venus and her Mirror)

Storyteller: Cupid was the son of a beautiful Goddess Venus. Wherever Venus went Cupid went too. He was a merry little guy and liked to see people happy. Cupid went around shooting gold-tipped arrows into the hearts of humans. As soon as the arrow hit them they fell in love. Venus, Cupid’s mother, had a golden mirror.

She looked into the mirror every day.

Venus:(is looking at herself in the mirror. The other girl is doing the same gestures – she is her mirror)

And whom do I see?

Somebody that looks

Just like me.

When I smile

That somebody smiles too.

She seems to follow

Everything I do.

I turn and she turns,

I curtsy and she curtsies,

I stand and she stands.

And if I run away,

Away will run she.

And do you know why?

Because she is really me.

Mirror, mirror on the wall

Who is the fairest of all?

(music) (They dance together. The mirror disappears in the dance. Venus sits down crying, Cupid appears.)

Cupid: What’s wrong? What’s happened, my dear? What’s the matter? Why are you crying so bitterly?

Venus: I am crying . . .  I am crying because I’ve lost my golden mirror! Oh my golden mirror. Where is it? I’ve lost it. It’s gone . . .

Cupid: You’ve lost your golden mirror? Please don’t . . . please don’t cry. I am going to search for your golden mirror.

(music)

I looked here, I looked there, but the mirror was nowhere to be found.

Storyteller:Then Cupid flew over the meadow where some sheep were grazing. Among them a shepherd stood.

Cupid: Oh, what’s that? Beams of lights are flashing up into my eyes. What’s that? Oh, I see that light is coming from something in the shepherd’s hand. What’s that? Stop that! Stop! Don’t . . .! Oh, it’s my mother’s golden mirror. (cries)

How could he dare to look at his ugly face in my mother’s golden mirror! I must take the mirror away from him!

(He pulls a cracker, confetti are falling down)

Storyteller: He struck the mirror from the shepherd’s hands. It fell to the ground and broke into hundreds of golden pieces.

Plants with beautiful blossoms sprang up where the mirror was broken. Later people called the flowers “Venus’ Looking Glass”.

(music, flowers dance)

The Song “Edelweiss”

Edelweiss, Edelweiss,

Every morning your greet me

Small and white

Clean and bright

You look happy to meet me

Blossom of snow, may you bloom and grow.

Bloom and grow forever.

Edelweiss, edelweiss,

Bless my homeland forever.

Storyteller: They say, flowers are the symbols of beauty and love. So people give flowers on Valentine’s Day, to show their love and affection.

Valentine Card: Whatever the odd mixture of origins, Saint Valentine’s Day is now a day for sweethearts. It is the day when you show your friend or lover how much you love and care about them. You can send candies or flowers to someone you think special. Most people send me, Valentine Card.

(music)1

Teacher: (has a box with some special things: a fan, a piece of lace, a red mitten, coins, a ring, a ribbon, etc.)

There are many symbols on Valentine Cards. And each has its special meaning. A fan shows that you open your heart to a person you love. A ribbon shows that you want to be tied to another special person. A ring is a symbol of love and binding to another person. When a man gives a ring to a woman they are engaged. Lace shows that you want a special person to be caught in the net of your heart. A red mitten is a sign that you don’t like someone. So when a person gives you a red mitten he says “I don’t like you”. A coin shows you will marry a wealthy person. So if someone gives you a coin he/she is wishing you to be wealthy. Now let’s repeat some expressions.

(The speaker draws the children’s attention to the poster)

I love you.

I’m crazy about you.

I don’t like you.

I don’t care about you.

I’m in your net.

The children will demonstrate how these symbols relate to Valentine’s Day. They will compete to be the best actor or actress. The audience with their clapping will decide who is the best.

Competition starts. (The children get on the stage and perform.) After that they get presents.

Teacher: We have had a special contest of handmade Valentines. A lot of schoolmates took an active part in it.

(The teacher names the best students and gives them presents. It is better if some other teachers help)

Valentine Card: A special gift on Saint Valentine’s Day is our concert.

(In this part of the party the children may sing some songs and recite any poems about love and friendship, they may dance, or perform sketches)

Valentine’s Day is a day to share loving feelings with friends and the family. It is also known as a holiday honouring lovers. You have experienced love and friendship of schoolmates and teachers in this Valentine celebration. May your love and friendship grow and touch everyone you meet.

Good luck to all of you. Let’s sing a farewell song.

You are my sunshine,

My only sunshine.

You make me happy when skies are gray.

You’ll never know, dear,

How much I love you;

Please don’t take my sunshine away.

(When the children are singing 4 or 6 teachers or senior students give out sweet presents to all the students and guests in the hall)