The Story Behind Your Valentine's Goodies
Valentine's Day is synonymous with romance, of course. However of the hundreds of thousands who have fun the popular holiday for lovers each year, how many actually know the wealthy history behind it?
There are a number of competing theories on the origins of Valentine's Day. Some say its beginnings may be found within the Middle Ages, when many believed that birds mated for life on Feb. 14. To commemorate the spirit of companionship, people would send love letters on that day.
Others say we owe our celebration to the traditional Roman feast of Lupercalia, a pagan fertility competition that was held in mid-February. On this day, ladies wrote love notes that had been positioned in an urn and randomly drawn by men, who would then pursue the be aware-writers and claim them as companions for the subsequent year.
Early Christians most well-liked to associate the vacation with the saint of romantic causes, Saint Valentine. However there is some controversy concerning Saint Valentine: The Catholic Church recognizes at the very least three saints named Valentine or Valentinus.
The most popular candidate is a 3rd century priest. Legend says he carried out secret marriages towards the orders of Emperor Claudius II, who forbade younger males from marrying because he believed that single males had been more prone to join the army.
Because the story goes, Valentine was imprisoned for his misdeeds. He then fell in love along with his jailer's daughter and despatched her a word signed "From Your Valentine" earlier than he was executed in A.D. 270. A bit greater than 200 years later, Pope Gelasius formally acknowledged Feb. 14 in honor of Valentine, the patron saint of lovers.
Some say the tradition of sending Valentine greetings began in 1415 with a Frenchman named Charles, Duke of Orleans. Imprisoned within the Tower of London after the Battle of Agincourt, the duke reportedly passed time by writing romantic verses for his wife. By the sixteenth century, sending written expressions of affection on Valentine's Day had turn into very common.
By the start of the twentieth century, the giving of Valentines was accompanied with items of flowers and chocolates. The pink rose and heart-shaped field of candies turned synonymous with Valentine's Day.
Now, more than $1 billion is spent annually on Valentine's Day candy.
The Nationwide Confectioners Affiliation estimates that greater than 36 million candy hearts will likely be sold this year alone, nearly all of them from Russell Stover, the main producer of coronary heart-shaped bins of chocolate in the United States. Russell Stover also caters to the well being conscious with assortments which are sugar-free and low in carbohydrates.
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