A Short Review of Valentine's Chocolate

We all know that Valentine's Day means love - and love means chocolate. But did you know there's more to Valentine's than just making your sweetie smile as you indulge her sweet tooth?

You'll hear different opinions on just how Valentine's Day got its start. Many say it began in the middle ages. People in those times thought that birds mated on the fourteenth of February. Since they saw the birds pairing off on that day, they started to send love letters.

Others attribute the day to pagan traditions, mainly with the Roman Lupercalia feast. This feast was celebrated every year in mid-February. It's said that women wrote love letters on this day and placed them in an earthen vessel. Men would draw these love letters out and lay claim to their lady for the next year.

Saint Valentine came into the picture with the early Christians. There's some controversy with his history as the Catholic Church has a few different saints with that name or similar. However, the most popular story states that Valentine was a man who performed secret marriages in the third century.

His marriages were performed secretly because the Emperor of the time, Claudius the Second, forbid marriage. He thought single men would be more likely to serve in the army. He had Valentine imprisoned for performing these marriages. The saint fell in love with the jailers daughter and sent her letters signed "from your Valentine." He was later executed.

As with all parts of the Valentine's story, there's more controversy over the sending of Valentines. Some say it started with the Duke of Orleans as he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. He wrote romantic letters to his wife while imprisoned in the tower.

It was sometime after all of these events that Valentine's Day candy began to be sent along with the cards. The mid-19th century saw the rise of gifts for Valentine's Day, and by the 20th century, candy and that delightful Valentine chocolate went right along with them.

The chocolates were often packed in red satin, heart shaped boxes. "Chocolate samplers" with multiple chocolates became very popular as gifts to give a sweetheart. Fudge is also a celebrated Valentine's candy.

Other countries also have their own chocolate traditions - Brazil has its own special Boyfriend/Girlfriend day which is much like our Valentine's day. Chocolates are exchanged by lovers on this day.

In Japan there is an interesting custom with Valentine chocolate - only the ladies give men chocolates! Women can give it to all men they know, co-workers, family, and friends. Men often measure their popularity by how many chocolates he's given on Valentine's Day. In fact, some men become very sensitive about the amount they receive. It's interesting to note that there's a day in March, called "White Day" when the men return the chocolate favors bestowed on them by the ladies. There are similar customs to these in Korea.

Other countries have similar Valentine's Day traditions to the United States - the European countries and China all give chocolates to their Sweethearts of Valentine's Day.

There's more to Valentine's Day - and the delicious little chocolate that has become such a traditional part of the holiday, than meets the eye!

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