Creative Chocolates

Legends of St. Valentine's Day

There are many legends which surround the origins of St. Valentine's Day, a holiday which has withstood many depressing eras. The socio-economic forces involved with the holiday have contributed to its continuity - like lovers of all ages focusing on this bright spot amid the bleakness of winter, and the suppliers of goods that emphasize the message of affection.

• On February 14th, 273 A.D., a Roman priest named Valentine was beheaded by Emperor Claudius II. The emperor had outlawed marriages because he felt they decreased the male's zest for battle. Valentine was condemned to death because he ignored the emperor's decrees and continued to perform marriages for young lovers.
• Another St. Valentine (there are reports of up to eight around this time period) was a Roman martyr who had been jailed. Valentine wrote love letters to his jailer's daughter with the last note signed, "Your Valentine". Other sources cite this Valentine as restoring the sight of his captor's daughter.
• Some etymologists point to a medieval Norman French word, "gelatin", meaning "a lover of women". They say it was once written and pronounced with a "v".
• In England, the Romans, who had taken over the country, had introduced a pagan fertility festival held every February 14. After the Romans left England, nearly a century later, the pagan ritual was abolished by Pope Gelsius who established St. Valentine's Day as a celebration of love in 496 A.D.
• During the Middle Ages, Europeans believed that birds chose their mates each year on February 14. People developed their own adaptation of this ornithological myth and began the practice of drawing lots, letting fate decide the names of each person's "Valentine". Small gifts and sweets were exchanged, and this became a common procedure for the amorously inclined young men and women of this period.
• Ancient Romans celebrated a festival in mid-February called Lupercalia in honor of Lupercus, the Roman equivalent of the Greed god, Pan. Festivities included a matchmaking ritual in which young men drew the names of young women, who either became their dancing partners during the "Rites of Pan", or their partner for the year.
• The Frenchman, Charles duc d'Orleans, sent love poems to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London on February 14, 1415. These may have been the first written valentines, and, as the idea caught on, such notes were accompanied by chocolate and other sweets.
• The 17th century diarist, Samuel Pepys, recorded that lovers exchanged mementos like gloves, rings and sweetmeats on St. Valentine's Day. Shakespeare suggested "Sweets to the Sweet", in Hamlet.
• In America, the pilgrims sent confections, such as sugar wafers, marzipan, sweetmeats and sugar plums, to their betrothed. Great value was placed on these gifts because they included what was then a rare commodity, sugar. After the late 1800's, beet sugar became widely used and more available, and sweet gifts continued to be valued and enjoyed.
• As the candy-giving custom grew, American colonists made homemade candies with love notes scratched in the surface. By the mid-nineteenth century, candy-makes were preparing deliciously flavored sugar lozenges, pressed into hearts and imprinted with words of love -- the beginning of the modern-day conversation heart.
• Red and white confections became popular, with red representing the "passion", and white the "purity" of love. By the turn of the century, heart-shaped boxes of chocolate began to appear in the confectionery shops from coast to coast.

[Information adapted from material published by Retail Confectioner's Association in their publication, "Kettle Talk"]