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St. Valentine’s Day is a day known for candy, greeting cards and, of course, flowers, but most of all it’s a day to show your significant other how much you really care. Still, many people remain skeptical about Valentine’s Day. How did it start? Is it just a way for storeowners to make more money? And how exactly do they make those candy conversation hearts?
Saint Valentine was a Catholic bishop in early Rome during the rule of Emperor Claudius II, also known as Claudius the Cruel. Claudius was involved in several bloody ordeals and thus needed to maintain a strong army so he could protect himself. Unfortunately, his men were homesick and discouraged by the separation from their wives and families, and so Claudius banned all marriages and engagements in Rome.
Valentine thought this was unjust and proceeded to perform the marriages in secret. When he was discovered, Claudius had Valentine arrested and sentenced to be beaten and beheaded. Legend has it that while Valentine was in jail he became very close with his jailer’s daughter, and upon his death left a note for her signed “From your Valentine.” This is the reason we exchange Valentine cards even to this day. Valentine was executed on Feb. 14 around the year 269 A.D. and was later named a saint for his service.
So how did Cupid become the symbol of this holiday? Cupid is the son of Venus, the Roman goddess of love. He is considered the god of love and affection in all forms. Typically, Cupid is portrayed as a winged cherub with a bow and a quiver of arrows that could inspire love or passion. In literature he was portrayed as mischievous, yet his work was still considered as beneficial to couples everywhere.
Another monumental part of Valentine’s Day is candy.
An average of 36 million boxes of candy are sold on Valentine’s Day, the most popular being the New England Confectionary Company’s Sweethearts Conversation Hearts. More than 8 billion hearts are made each year to keep up with the demands. However, Sweethearts Conversation Hearts didn’t start out the way they are today.
Originally, the candy was something more resembling a fortune cookie, with the message printed on colored paper and rolled up inside the heart. It wasn’t until the 1860s that they started printing the message on the actual candy.
They mix together sugar, corn syrup and other ingredients to make dough, which is then flattened and cut into hearts with the sayings applied onto the dough. The candies are sent through a drying tunnel for 30 minutes and then packaged into boxes to be sent all over the world. If you’re interested in submitting a saying to be printed on the candy hearts, check out www.necco.com.
But what would Valentine’s Day be without cards and flowers? The most commonly purchased flower is the rose, followed by carnations, lilies and tulips. More than 110 million roses, mostly red, are sold within the three days surrounding Feb. 14. Sixty percent of these come from California and the rest are imported from South America.
Greeting cards are another common form of gift giving. Every year, 141 million cards are exchanged on Valentine’s Day, making it the second-most popular greeting card occasion, next to Christmas.
Valentine’s Day is a widely recognized holiday that is known to people all over the world. In addition to the U.S, it is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the U.K., France, Australia, Denmark, Italy and Japan.
So no matter how you’re celebrating this year’s Feb. 14, make sure you share it with someone special.
