Research and Valentines Day

As I was showing teachers how to use the Gale Databases today, I came across an article that was describing the origin of Valentine's Day.  I was amazed to learn that it may have stemmed from Geoffrey Chaucer "in his work The Parliament of Foules, ... 'For this was Seynt Valentyne's Day. When every foul cometh ther to choose his mate'" (Bowler). Isn't that language great?  Can you believe that is English?  The article went on to say that in the Middle Ages, St. Valentine's Day was celebrated by making proclamations of love or trying to figure out who one's true love is.  Do we still celebrate that way?

For those romantically minded this holiday, I wish to share with you some titles of books that may feed the lovebug! Stop by the library, and I will be glad to help you find any of these!

*	Beautiful Creatures Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl In a small South Carolina town, where it seems little has changed since the Civil War, sixteen-year-old Ethan is powerfully drawn to Lena, a new classmate with whom he shares a psychic connection and whose family hides a dark secret that may be revealed on her sixteenth birthday.
*	The Big Crunch Pete Hautman June is starting at her sixth school in four years when she meets Wes, who has just broken up with a girlfriend, and although they do not share an instant or intense connection, attraction turns to love and they wonder where it will lead.
*	Cyrano Geraldine McCaughrean Ashamed of his ugliness, long-nosed Cyrano de Bergerac, a brilliant seventeenth-century poet and expert swordsman in the French army, helps a rival woo and win Roxane, the beautiful cousin Cyrano loves in silence.
*	Fallen Lauren Kate Lena looks forward to receiving the government-mandated cure that prevents the delirium of love and leads to a safe, predictable, and happy life, until ninety-five days before her eighteenth birthday and her treatment, when she falls in love.
*	Delirium Lauren Oliver Suspected in the death of her boyfriend, seventeen-year-old Luce is sent to a Savannah, Georgia, reform school where she meets two intriguing boys and learns the truth about the strange shadows that have always haunted her.
*	Flavor of the Week Tucker Shaw Cyril, an overweight boy who is good friends with Rose but wishes he could be more, helps his best friend Nick woo her with culinary masterpieces which Cyril himself secretly creates. Includes recipes from the story.
*	Girlfriend Material Melissa Kantor Kate's hopes for a summer romance are dashed when her mother announces plans to stay with wealthy friends in Cape Cod as a ploy to make Kate's father jealous, but when Kate is introduced to Adam things begin to look brighter.

Bowler, Gerry. "Valentine's Day." St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom     Pendergast. Vol. 5. Detroit: St. James Press, 2000. 16-17. Gale Student Resources In Context. Web. 14 Feb. 2013.