Love it or hate it, one thing is for sure: Valentine’s Day means chocolate! To me, any holiday that revolves around sharing chocolate or drowning in it, is worth celebrating. Though, outside of the heart-shaped-boxes and treats, V-Day has, of course, a darker history than your favorite dark chocolate.
According to a Capital One Shopping Report, hopeless romantics and manic depressives buy 58 million pounds of chocolate and candy during the week of Valentine’s Day. Admittedly, I might be responsible for a significant portion of that figure, but I’m happy others are finding comfort in chocolate therapy during the hardest holiday of the year.
Heart-shaped chocolate boxes vs Conversation Hearts
I’m heartbroken to find out that the classic heart-shaped boxes aren’t the top-selling Valentine’s Day candy. First place? Those little tasteless Conversation Hearts, they make up 10.3%, barely beating heart-shaped boxes at 10.1%.
Okay, Conversations Hearts might make for a cute meet cute, but they don’t offer the luxurious hug decadent chocolate offers.
It goes without saying, I’m with the 47% of shoppers planning to buy themselves a box of chocolates — now that’s my kind of self care.
History of Valentine’s Day
A brief history of Valentine’s Day consists of miracles, prison, and death. Surprisingly, there’s no love in this story. Apparently, the holiday was born from a Roman legend taking place in the third century, at least according to Hallmark.
Once upon a time, a man named Valentinus was a prisoner, locked away for his Christian beliefs and sentenced to death. During his stint in the clink, Valentinus helped the jailer’s blind daughter by restoring her sight.
Hours before his doom, the condemned prisoner wrote a goodbye letter to the girl, which he signed off, “From your Valentine.” The next day on February 14, 269 A.D. he was executed.
Centuries later, in fifth century Rome, on Feb. 14, people honored Juno, the goddess of love and marriage. During the celebration, lucky men would draw women’s names and court them for marriage.
Then, near 498 A.D., Pope Gelasius declared the date February 14th as St. Valentine’s Day to honor the infamous Valentinus and to end the pagan celebration.
However, it wasn’t until 1849, when Esther Howland of Worcester, Massachusetts, published the first American valentine creating the commercial culture we know, love, and loathe, today.
Aftertaste of Valentine’s Day
For some, Valentine’s Day leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. I can’t relate because it leaves a sweet one dancing on my tongue.
So, whether you’re into the holiday or not, at least you can enjoy the millions of pounds of sweets that decorate the shelves of your favorite store.
Because if you’re going to die alone, you might as well die by chocolate.
If you’re not into Valentine’s Day chocolate, check out my favorite cereals.
