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VALENTINE'S DAY VOCABULARY EXERCISE (ESL)

Choose the best response to complete each sentence.

1. Valentine's Day is a holiday that celebrates (romance/romantic) love, a day when lovers express their feeling for each other, often by exchanging gifts.

2. Chocolate, flowers, and jewelry are all (typical/topical) Valentine's Day presents.

3. The most traditional gift on this day is a Valentine's Day (card/note), which has a written message saying how much someone means to you.

4. Other modern symbols are the heart-shaped outline (shape of a heart) and the figure of Cupid, usually shown shooting his bow to (make/inspire) romantic love.

5. Many couples go out on romantic (dates/meetings) on Valentine's Day.

6. An example of the above is a (candlelight/candle-burning) dinner in a romantic restaurant.

7. When a boy asks you to be his "valentine", he wants you to simply (except/accept) the fact that he likes you. Sometimes this can also mean that he wants to (make/spend) time with you on Valentine's Day.

8. A (sweetheart/sweet-tooth) is a slightly outdated term meaning "the one I love".

9. If you're buying your loved one a (dozen/twelve) roses, it means you're buying her/him 12 roses.

10. Wow! What a beautiful (bucket/bouquet)! ( = arrangement of flowers usually given as a present).

DID YOU KNOW?

Valentine's Day is celebrated has some quirky and/or unexpected traditions in some countries:

Japan: Chocolate math
Women give chocolate to men on Feb 14. There's "giri-choco" (obligation chocolate) for coworkers and "honmei-choco" for true love. Men return the favor a month later on White Day.

South Korea: Singles get noodles
If you're single, April 14 (Black Day) is for eating black bean noodles (jajangmyeon) with other single friends to mourn-dramatically.

Finland & Estonia: Friend Day
Valentine's Day is about friendship, not romance. Cards and gifts go to friends, classmates, and neighbors.

Wales: Love spoon
Instead of cards, people carve and give wooden spoons with symbols (keys, hearts, knots) representing love and commitment.

Denmark: Anonymous poems
People send funny rhyming poems signed only with dots instead of names. If the recipient guesses correctly, they get an Easter egg later.

Germany: Pigs of love
Pigs symbolize luck and passion. Valentine gifts often feature pig-shaped chocolates and figurines

TRY OUR OTHER HOLIDAY VOCABULARY EXERCISES:

Australia Day (Australia)
Hanukkah
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Christmas 1
Christmas (Visual matching) 1
Christmas (Visual matching) 2
St. Stephen's Day
New Year's Eve/New Year's Day
Martin Luther King Day
Valentine's Day
Presidents Day
St. Patrick's Day
April Fools' Day
Anzac Day (Australia/NZ)
Easter
Cinco De Mayo
Victoria Day (Canada)
Mother's Day/ Father's Day
Memorial Day
Canada Day
Independence Day (USA)
Ramadan
Labor Day
Halloween
Thanksgiving 1
Thanksgiving 2

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