Valentine’s Day is a mysterious holiday—we celebrate it every year, and yet nobody really knows where it came from or what the origins of Valentine’s Day are.  What we do know is that the holiday, despite thought to be a Hallmark-holiday, is based on the legends surrounding Saint Valentine.

Saint Valentine can be traced back to Christian and ancient Roman traditions, and the Catholic Church alone recognizes three different Saint Valentines.  The many myths and legend surrounding this patron saint are what gave us the holiday we today call Valentine’s Day.

Just a Tall Tale?

There are many legends about the origin of Valentine’s Day, and of Saint Valentine for that matter.  One story says that Valentine was a Roman priest during the third century, who continued to perform marriages for young men and women despite the Emperor Claudius’ forbiddance of the practice.  Claudius then supposedly ordered Valentine to be put to death.

This story has another ending.  Instead of being put to death, some legends argue that Valentine, in fact, went to prison, where he created the first valentine.  He is said to have fallen in love with a young girl who visited him, and to have written her a letter before his death.  He signed the letter “from your Valentine,” coining the phrase as it is used today. 

Whichever legend may be true, if any of them are at all; there are certain elements of the stories that remain true.  The origins of Saint Valentine always dictate that the man was a martyr, and he is always said to be a brave and courageous hero.

Popular Practice

Though the origins of Valentine’s Day remain unclear, more is known about when Valentine’s Day first became a popular holiday.  It was not until the seventeenth century that Valentine’s Day became a popularly celebrated holiday in Great Britain.  At first, crude letters were written to carry on the tradition of the holiday, which made it very similar to Valentine’s Day’s supposed origins.  Soon, printed cards were used instead.
In the 1700’s, America first began to celebrate the holiday.  The first mass-produced Valentine’s Day cards were produced in the 1840s by Esther A. Howland. 

A Modern World

The origins of Valentine’s Day have survived over many years, and the holiday is still celebrated by the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Australia, and France.  Though some traditions have changed, Valentine’s Day is still true to its origins in spirit.  

To get the answer to the origin of the tradition of Valentines Day garland you need to step back a little into the history. This would take you around the 17th century when flowers were most importantly used as a symbol for love and devotion. The rose in particular is dedicated to love and is considered as the favorite flower of Goddess Venus who is also the Goddess of Love and Beauty.

The Connection Between The Valentines Day Garland And Romance

In those times, the Valentines Day garland was meant to say ‘I love you’ in a very subtle way. All the symbols that tie it to love, sexual passion and romance have been merged into this simple way of presenting a Valentines Day garland.

However, just giving the Valentines Day garland would not be all. This is by far too simple. What you would also have to pay attention to what type of flowers (and color) are used to make this garland before having the perfect Valentine Day gift.

The first choice for flowers would be the rose which is already associated with love and passion; you have then the yellow rose that symbolizes new and ever lasting friendship. If you are fishing in the waters of love, and want to only indicate that you are interested in someone but you do not have direct access all you need to do is send him or her a bouquet of yellow roses. This would mean that you are asking for her or his friendship.

There are also flowers that say it all with only their fragrance such as posies, amaryllis, red lilies and the like. This information would be helping you to choose how you want to declare your love to your sweetheart. The Valentines Day garland is only one among so many ways to make your love known on the Valentine Day.

The Romance Is Still Growing

With every legend that backs it up or rather fuels it up, Valentines Day garland is growing more exciting as a symbolic method used to declare your love with the help of flowers. This is indeed a legacy that is handed down over so many generations celebrating love and the exhilaration of the feelings generated when you first find out you are in love.

Remember when you use flowers on the Valentine’s day you can say a lot with the right choice of flowers. Add a mini-guide to the garland or with your greeting card, lest your partner miss the message sent due to ignorance about the meaning of the flowers that make the garland. 

Have you ever wondered about the origins of giving chocolate for Valentines Day? Have you ever wondered about why certain traditions are followed on special days such as on Christmas Day you put up a tree; on Valentine’s Day you offer chocolates, flowers, gifts and declare your love and so on. Why do you offer chocolates? Does chocolate has any special significance?

The Origins Of Giving Chocolate For Valentines Day

In ancient days, chocolate has forever been considered a very special gift from Gods right from the time the Aztecs discovered it. In those times it was believed that chocolate was meant to enhance the passion of love and ecstasy.  Chocolate was also associated with spiritual wisdom and sexual prowess. The then Emperor Monezuma, so the legends say, considered this to be an elixir for eternal sexual youth and always consumed a cup of hot chocolate before he visited his harem. 

The Spanish explorers carried tall tales about the chocolate drink (this is the way it was known and consumed in the past) and have entered it in their chronicles as the “divine drink” meant to build sexual resistance and eliminate body fatigue. This is how, ever so gradually chocolate established itself as an energy-recharge drink.

It was long after in the year 1585 that scientists of that time realized that chocolate is addictive; similar to coffee due to an ingredient know as theobromine which actively stimulated the nervous system of the body resulting in a pleasant and energetic feel. Looking closely at the composition of a bar of chocolate you will find that a regular chocolate bar would have as much as 200 mg of theobromine and about one tenth of it is caffeine. Both addictive ingredients, both well known as mood elevators.

This is not all. There is one more extremely savvy ingredient in the chocolate and that is the phenylethylamine which is part of the natural body-produced mood enhancers called endorphins. This is the same ingredient that you would find in the body when you are in love. This could be one of the explanations or origins of giving chocolate for Valentines Day because it is directly associated with love, passion, sex and so on.

There is more that contributes to the legend on origins of giving chocolate for Valentines Day  and that is that it also has a good deal of serotonin which is a compound that is used to calms the nerves of a person. This is why today when anyone is a little upset there is a tendency to reach out for a bar of chocolate.

The above trip through history besides being  enjoyable actually explains why chocolate is given on Valentine’s Day. As you observe the origins of giving chocolate for Valentines Day seem to be traced back to literally hundreds of years ago because it is associated with directly with love.