Remember when you were in kindergarten making a little shoebox mailbox, and you were wrapping it really pretty in pink and red paper and covered it in hearts? You had no clue that Valentine’s Day actually started centuries before. All you knew is that you hoped you would get a Valentine card in your box and just maybe someone would attach some candy to it as a bonus.

Thank you, Romans! That cute little baby with the arrow that appears on cards and everywhere this time of year is actually the son of the Roman goddess, Venus. She represented love and beauty, and she bestowed to her child, Cupid, the power of love to him, as well. Those Romans were something else! During this time period in February, they would have great festivals to honor fertility. There would be parades, parties, and great feasts in this festival called “Lupercalia”. Whoa! We can only imagine!

Please, don’t forget St. Valentine! There was more than one St. Valentine, and in my research I discovered there may have been as many as six to twelve St. Valentines! There are many Valentines with so many stories that it would take a plethora of books to do the research! History does mention the one Valentine, who upon being imprisoned wrote a note and then signed it, “Your Valentine”. Or, it could have been the Valentine that took pity on couples in love. He was secretly performing weddings until his beheading on February 14th. Or do we credit the poet, Geoffrey Chaucer, for making the day popular in 1370 and giving homage to Saint Valentine’s Day?

Whatever the origins were, it didn’t officially become a holiday until the end of the 5th century when Pope Gelasius declared February 14th as St. Valentine’s Day. During the Middle Ages, the holiday became tied to birds and their mating season on February 14th. Hence, love and romance were In the air. People forgot about winter for a day. But then again, England’s King Henry VII declared February 14th as St. Valentine’s Day …..hence, the confusion again!

Whatever the date, or whatever the reason, it wasn’t until the 5th century that a French duke named Charles wrote a poem to his wife on Valentine’s Day. He was in a prison in the Tower of London at the young age of 21 years old. He was such a romantic, sending his love these words, “I am already sick in love, My very gentle Valentine.” Awww!

Today, the Valentine industry is plush with objects to buy for your sweetheart. Roses, mostly grown in California, are generally bought by men, but 27% of them are purchased by women! Nearly 50 million roses are given for Valentine’s Day. You would think that of the billions of Valentine cards that are purchased that most of them are going to sweethearts. Wrong! They are going to teachers, children, and mothers. Sorry, honey, wives are at the bottom of the list.

Mmmm! Thinking about that delicious box of chocolates? Richard Cadbury came up with that in the late 1800’s. In fact, thanks to Mr. Cadbury, more than 35 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate will be sold for Valentine’s Day. I used to eat mine as a little girl, and then I would get into my mom’s box of chocolates. As I said, “Mmmm!”

An interesting tidbit is a tradition from Wales. Lovers there give wooden spoons to their Valentine. They are carved with hearts, keys, and keyholes. These unusual symbols meant the heart would be locked forever in love to the recipient. I like that idea. Can you use the spoon in the kitchen?

I’m not a fan of candy hearts with messages, but billions are made every Valentine season. As a teacher, I would use them as an art project instead of eating them in the classroom. We made all kinds of crazy projects with candy hearts. I would let the kids eat them as we created our projects. Needless to say, it was their favorite activity. We can thank Oliver Chase for the invention of the machine in 1901 that cut out the hearts of Necco Wafers, and then his brother designed another machine to print the message. I’m not saying that I’ve seen a few years go by, but the messages sure are different nowadays.

So, enjoy your Valentine’s Day, and don’t forget to seal it with an X. That fad started in the Middle Ages as a sign that a document was sealed with the person’s oath of faithfulness. Sometimes the writer would actually kiss the X, and then later it was described as being “sealed with a kiss”. How do you celebrate St. Valentine’s Day? Until then… smile, send love, have a sensational Sunday, be safe, and I love you!