By Wanda Haynes
February 14th Saint Valentine’s Day is the day to celebrate love. The time of year to relish romantic notions. Store windows are decorated with pink lace and shiny red hearts.
Eager boys and girls drop treats into school Valentine’s Day boxes. Greeting cards are adorned with flowery words to entice a lover.
How did roses, chocolate, and Cupid become important icons of Valentine’s Day?
A martyred priest by the name of Saint Valentine is the backdrop of many tales. He lived in the time of Claudius, Emperor of Rome, better known to Romans as “Claudius the goth”.
One account says Claudius cancelled all pending weddings for the sake of the army. The soldiers didn’t want to leave their sweethearts to go to war.
Sympathetic Valentine secretly continued to marry couples.
When Claudius found this out, he was furious and threw Valentine in prison. It is said that Valentine succumbed to Cupid’s arrow and fell in love with the jailer’s blind daughter.
He reportedly cured her blindness and wrote her love letters from prison, signing the passionate letters “your Valentine”.
Valentine’s Day wouldn’t be complete without Cupid pulling back his bow.
In Roman mythology Cupid is the son of Venus the goddess of love and beauty.
Venus is considered the goddess of romantic love. Cupid shoots invisible arrows into his victims who then fall madly in love.
Watch out he might he be just around the corner waiting for you!
The red heart associated with Valentine’s Day is also steeped in lore.
The traditional heart shape first appeared in 1910 on a Valentine’s Day card.
It’s a reminder of our spiritual moral and emotional love for one another.
We don’t need a holiday to eat chocolate, dark, milk, white, pralines, or truffles.
Chocolate is synonymous with Valentine’s Day it’s velvety texture and sweet taste are seductive and satisfying.
Chocolate came from Spain around 1585 it was originally consumed as a drink to fight off fatigue. The Spaniards noticed they had more energy; it was no doubt that caffeine in chocolate that had something to do with the surge of energy.
Sugar was eventually added to chocolate to lessen the bitter taste. British chocolatier Robert Cadbury was the first to sell chocolate in a heart-shaped box. He designed the box for Valentine’s Day lovers in 1863.
Chocolate is said to release chemicals in the brain that mimic the feeling of being in love. The heart-shaped box releases the same feeling of excitement.
Flowers are known for having both scent and beauty. The art of floriography came to Europe from Persia 300 years ago. There is a similar tradition from Japan called Hanako Toba. Flowers became a practical way to send messages back and forth. This tradition reached its height during the Victorian era.
Young men and women became versed in the language of flowers. Sending a sweet William blossom offers a gentle flirt and asks for a smile in return. Cedar declares “I live for thee”. The more direct mistletoe asks for a kiss.
Red roses symbolize true love and passion, pink roses represent happiness, and white roses are for friendship.
Valentine’s Day is a charming holiday to celebrate single, married, widowed, or divorced. Take the time to show love or friendship to those around you.
Saint Valentine would be very proud. MSN
