Chocolates for Valentine’s Day

Experts may offer different theories of its origin, but one thing is clear: there is Valentine’s Day because people wanted to celebrate love. The recognition of such strong emotion developed many traditions that we know today like exchanging love letters, giving flowers, and handing over chocolates.

While letters or cards and flowers are already an ancient Valentine’s Day gifts, chocolates have just recently been popular in some countries. However, chocolates were already used as a gift during the Aztecs period. Aztecs believed that wisdom and power will be acquired by eating the fruit of the cocoa tree, from which chocolates are created. They also deemed chocolates had nourishing, fortifying, and aphrodisiac qualities.

In the 17th century, Spanish Princess Maria Theresa gave Louis XIV of France chocolates packed in an elegantly ornate chest as an engagement gift. During these years, there was already a chocolate craze in most areas of France.

Nowadays, chocolate gifts mean love, lust, and pleasure. Many say chocolates are seductive and suggestive because of its gratifying potent, creaminess, and silkiness.

A survey of Debra Waterhouse, who authored Why Women Need Chocolate, showed that 50 percent of the women respondents would choose chocolate over sex and 22 percent of them were more likely to choose chocolate to elevate their moods.

Depending on the taste of the receiver, people give regular, dark, or milk chocolates. A few favorite chocolate gifts in the Internet include chocolate covered strawberries, hand-made chocolates, the tower of sweet surprises and melting hot fondue set.

Sparkled with colorful drizzle, a chocolate-covered strawberry is composed of strawberries hand dipped into white, dark, or milk chocolates. Meanwhile, hand-made chocolates have many variations depending on the taste bud of the baker and the receiver. These chocolates are put in a trendy Valentine’s boxes.
Tower of sweet surprises constitute of white-chocolate covered pretzels, chocolate cherry-flavored caramels, and strawberries and crème buttons.

Japanese tradition gives a different twist in giving chocolates. It is the Japanese women who give chocolates to men. Although, women receives gifts from men during White Day every 14th of March. This is because women are encouraged to express their love by giving chocolates on Valentine’s Day. Women also give chocolates to their male friends, brothers, fathers, and colleagues.

The chocolates women give to acquaintances, colleagues, and superiors are called “giri-choco,” which literally means obligation-chocolate. Women make sure to give giri-choco so that the men will not feel left out. The price of a giri-choco ranges from 200 to 500 yen.

For those men they love, women accompany their chocolate gifts with other items such as clothes, neckties, and cufflinks to name a few. These chocolates are called “honmei-choco,” which literally means prospective winner-chocolate. A honmei-choco is expensive compared to a giri-choco. These can also be home-made.

Japan is a well known country of chocolates. Statistics say that the chocolates sold during Valentine’s Day were mostly sold in Japan. This country has stores selling a variety of domestic and imported chocolates. Famous Japanese chocolate brands are Meiji, Morinaga, and Glico.

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Romantic Movies for Valentine’s Day

In history of cinema, it never fails to produce romantic films just for Valentine’s Day. Through the years, there are some films that you can watch repeatedly but remains to be effective in stirring emotions.

Some all time favorite romantic films include An Affair to Remember, Casablanca, Pretty Woman, Shakespeare In Love, and Titanic.

The 1942 Casablanca film was about a love triangle between a nightclub owner in Morocco and his former lover who has a Czech rebel and nationalist husband. The story revolves around the dilemma of a man between winning the woman he loves and helping his rival escape from the French-occupied Moroccan City of Casablanca. As highly acclaimed film, the characters, music, and phrases have become famous to the extent of including it in the list of greatest films of all time. It won three Academy Awards, including the Best Picture.

The 1957 An Affair to Remember is named the most romantic movie of all time according to American Film Institute. The story revolves around Terry and Nickie, played respectively by Deborah Kerr Cary Grant. The two meet on a ship travelling across the Atlantic Ocean. They eventually fall in love though both are engaged to other people. When they bid adieu to each other, they promised to meet atop the Empire State Building in six months if the feelings remain the same. The theme song “An Affair to Remember,” which was performed by Vic Damone, contributed to the success of the film.

Moving forward to the 90s, Pretty Woman is a blockbuster romantic comedy that reached a gross of 464 million dollars. The film is a love story between a prostitute and a wealthy businessman and corporate man. Julia Roberts played Vivian Ward while Richard Gere played Edward Lewis. Edward hired Vivian to be his escort in many businesses functions. Eventually, the two fall for each other.

From this Cinderella-story inspired plot, Roberts won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for Academy Awards for her role.

In 1998, Shakespeare in Love is another romantic comedy film. This is fictional film that revolves around the imagining of the young William Shakespeare—played by Joseph Fiennes—until he falls in love with a wealthy young woman. Shakespeare is struggling writer while the woman, played by Gwyneth Paltrow, disguises just to be an actor. The two eventually fall for each other.

Worth noting however, some of the characters are real people and some characters and lines are based on Shakespeare’s literary works.

An award winning blockbuster movie, Titanic is about the sinking of Titanic, the biggest ship of her time. The plot revolves around the love story of Jack and Rose, played respectively by Leonardo Di Carpio and Kate Winslet. Though coming from two different social classes, they eventually fall in love aboard the ship. The characters and story may be fictional but the sinking of Titanic is a real event.

Until now, no film has ever surpassed the commercial success of Titanic. It also won seven Academy Awards.

These five films have never failed to stir emotions from its audience making them an all-time favorite of moviegoers and lovers, especially during the love month.

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A Valentine's Date In The Beach

Indeed, beaches are one of the most sought after date locations on romantic occasions such as Valentine's Day. The excitement is doubled when the people who will spend a date in the beach are certified sun-worshippers this is because the combination of balmy weather, pristine beaches, and luxurious resorts dashed with all the frills of modern living would definitely make the date worthwhile.

Aside from the imminent grand adventure to look forward to, beach dates on Valentine's also suit best to those people who are living busy lives and would want to take a break or even for those who are fond of traveling and nature lovers.

Setting up a Valentine's Date By The Beach

Although all beaches guarantee total satisfaction and enjoyment, it should be considered that not all beaches created equal. Before setting up that Valentine's date by the beach, you should familiarize yourself first with the things that might concern you and your plan:

1. Establish the kind of beach that you and your date want. It’s your call. The most important thing is that you’ll enjoy your date by the beach. For romantic aura, you should look for a quiet and pristine beach where you can unwind and won’t be disturbed by anything or by anybody.

2. Start looking and researching for that ideal beach spot. Since not every beach is appropriate for everyone who wants to travel, be sure to choose the beach that goes with your plan. You can choose from a wide variety of beaches like public and private beaches, sandy beaches, nude beaches, rocky beaches, white beaches, black beaches and the like. 

3. Don’t forget the beach essentials. Since beach is all about going into water escapades, it would be best to prepare for swimming and other beach related activities. So, never forget to include a sun block with high SPF on your top priorities. Then, bring a large and durable beach bag enough to contain your flip-flops or thongs, plenty of towels, snorkeling gear, bathing suits, a trashy novel or magazines and pair sunglasses.

4. Schedule your flights and reservations early. If you are up for a Valentine's date by the beach, it would be best to make all the necessary preparations such as flight bookings and reservations for accommodations the soonest possible time. Since many people would want to spend their Valentine's date by the beach, reservations will run out soon.

5. Plan out your beach Valentine's date well. After mulling over the initial plan, looking for the ideal beach for that ultimate beach getaway, it’s now time to iron out everything by doing a little research so you can anticipate everything you need. It is best to look for beach resorts that have Valentine's Day offerings so you won't have to spend too much effort in decorating the venue. There are those that offer discounts on using their amenities while others set up a special menu for couples on Valentine's Day. The best thing that you could do is to choose those beach resorts that has existing Valentine's Day offering and add up some spice by customizing things using your own ideas.

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Online Dating On Valentine's Day

If there was one modern invention that has opened the door to seemingly limitless possibilities of connecting with other people, it would be the Internet. Since its invention in 1989, the Internet has never ceased to provide opportunities for people to discover and rediscover so many things. Aside from paving the way to easy access to almost any information, the Internet has become an avenue to connect people in different parts of the globe especially during special occasions such as Christmas and Valentine's Day.

Paving The Way For Romantic Relationships

One of the most popular means of connecting people through Internet is online dating service. Online dating is actually an excellent means of meeting new people, expanding dating pool, or even getting back on the dating scene especially on romantic occasions such as Valentine's Day.

Far from the common conception of being a desperate act of those people who are quite eager to form romantic relationships during Valentine's Day, online dating has being participated in by millions of people across the globe. For interested singles looking for prospective partners, online dating is a good way to get out of the shell especially for those who have traumatic experiences in ordinary dating.

Today, more and more people are into online dating services during Valentine's Day because of time constraint. Too busy in other things, people who are into online dating want to maximize their time by meeting people virtually and form connections with them. And since online dating doesn’t establish exclusivity to both parties, singles that are into it can even look for other interesting people who they can connect with.

A Practical Option

Veering away from the common notion that online dating is creepy and unsafe, online dating today has unveiled a new and refreshing face that has become acceptable to many. Banking on the concept of hassle-free and time-saving socialization alternative for people on-the-go, online dating has become a credible and reliable avenue in expanding one’s social pool and connection.

Online dating is considered by many people a practical option on Valentine's Day because it gives the person lesser hassles. Unlike regular dating which will require one to reserve seats in the restaurants or movie house, dress properly, look for possible date gift, and leave behind his/her schedule, online dating on Valentine's Day will give each individual enough time know each other without exclusive commitment.

Aside from saving the hassles in money and time, online dating also gives the person ultimate comfort since all one needs is a computer and a fast Internet connection. Here, there are also lesser restrictions and definitely no dress codes. Instead of dressing up when you go on a date, you can date online without fussing about your physical appearance.

When you go online on Valentine's Day, you also have more dating options and preferences to choose from. Since online dating includes so many people across the globe, you have wider reach to as many cultures as possible. You can also create stronger relationships when you continue communicating with the person on a regular basis.

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Romance On Valentine's Day

For couples, Valentine's Day is synonymous to a season of love and romance. Many look forward to this special day because they feel this is an extra special day when they can show their loved ones how much they love and want them.

To those who are looking forward to an ultimate romantic experience this Valentine's, one simple way to get the job done is by using simple aphrodisiacs such as the pheromones. Basically, these are chemicals people secrete in their sweat with other bodily fluids. Many people use this in special occasions such as Valentine's Day because this type of aphrodisiac is considered natural sexual attractant that has powerful influence on animals’ mating habits. And like in animals, pheromones also affect the mating habits of humans.

Being a behavior-altering chemical, pheromones are believed to be driving force behind a man and a woman’s intense sexual attraction. Pheromones also believed to influence how often people indulge in having sex and with whom they would want to do it. But, aside from performing many tasks other than just to stimulate sexual intercourse, pheromones are used as contraceptives, sedatives, and appetite suppressants. These have also been used to assure women’s the menstrual cycles and are being used to cure diseases and illnesses like impotence, prostate cancer and other sexual disorders.

Natural seduction

For people who are looking for action on Valentine's Day, pheromones are a simple solution to experience the thoughts that are running in your mind. Originally, pheromones are odorless and barely discernible. Although pheromones cannot be sensed by any of our senses, these chemicals discreetly affect people’s biological processes, which stimulate people’s sexual drives and reproductive behaviors in return. And because of its being a natural sexual attractant, people thought of innovative ways to make the use of pheromones easier and more accessible—through the form of a pheromone perfume.

Since perfumes are indispensable nowadays, more and more companies manufacture pheromone perfumes to show the subtle but powerful effects of these “secret seducers” to humans. These sets of perfumes are expected to increase in volume during Valentine's season because many people are looking for it.

Because of the increase in the demand, many people believe that pheromone perfumes has made it more possible to attract the opposite the easy way. But, how can these simple pheromone perfumes make you irresistibly seductive to the opposite sex and enough to capture the public’s fascination?

The fact that it has been proven a lot of times that people’s “sense of smell” governs who they are attracted to more so than the sense of sight, more companies are upfront in manufacturing and selling pheromone perfumes.

This Valentine's Day, if you want to be approached more often, you can purchase pheromone perfume to help you feel more confident and sexy. By applying it on any other part of your body, you can feel the surge of attraction from others. You can use pheromone perfumes in business meetings, school activities or at any social event for as long as you need it.

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Images that tell its Valentine’s Day

Different special occasions have varying symbols. For Valentine’s Day, there are several symbols signifying love and romance.

The main image and may be known to many is the heart. Symbolically, the heart houses all emotions of a person – an ancient belief handed down to us. Though science proved that heart is basically just an organ pumping blood, its symbol stayed and thus came to be associated with the emotion of love. Today, people differentiate the functions of heart from mind. Heart beats for love, while mind works for reason.

Thus, Valentine’s Day cards feature heart-shaped images and musical songs expressing the desire of heart. Even before Valentine’s Day, many stores begin selling heart-shaped items like chocolates, centerpieces, and notebooks to name a few. There are also hearts pierced by Cupid’s arrow.

Cupid is another symbol common on Valentine’s Day. Cupid is the mischievous son of Venus, the Roman goddess of love. He is otherwise called Eros in Greek mythology. Some time in history, ancient individuals thought Cupid is the reason why people fall in love with each other. They say the person pierced with Cupid’s bows and arrows fall in love. That is why nowadays we have the famous maxim “love at first sight.”

Another primary symbol for Valentine’s Day is a rose. You may notice the scores of stores selling roses when February 14 is nearing. In Roman mythology, it is the favorite flower of Venus. Even before, a rose has been used to express feelings to someone. It doesn’t only symbolize love but also peace and forgiveness. There are 72 different colors including yellow, white, pink, and black. Yellow is for friendship and white for peace,. A pink rose may mean friendship or romantic relationship. A black one means farewell. The infamous red color means strong and intense feelings. Hence, red roses are mostly seen being bought by lovers during this occasion.

Love birds and love knots are other common symbols for love. You definitely have seen these in wedding ceremonies. During reception, the newlywed frees a pair of doves. Among all other birds, dove is often used because it signifies purity and innocence. The medieval Europeans believed that on February 14 birds find their mates. That is, they exchange love letters on that day.

Meanwhile, love knots originated from the Arabic traditions. The traditional and orthodox Muslim women expressed their love through love knots – messages women in the knots of a carpet.

Harp is another symbol for love, art, poetry, and music. The strings of harp indicate the different levels of love and the way to happiness. This same belief is practiced in Iceland and Norway. Harp also represents a bridge between earth and heaven according to a Celtic civilization.

Lastly, apple symbolizes love, fertility and abundance. Apple also signifies feminine beauty and love. The Chinese thinks apple represents adoration and peace. The power of apple to make a love bloom is evident in many ancient stories. For instance, Greek god of wine Dinoysus offered apple to Aphrodite to win her heart.

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Chinese’ Own Valentine’s Day

While the rest of the world does their daily regulars, the Chinese celebrates Valentine’s Day every 15th of August.

Chinese Valentine’s Day, called Qi Xi or The Night of Sevens, falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the Chinese calendar. It is also known as ‘The Festival to Plead for Skills,’ ‘The Seventh Sister’s Birthday,’ and ‘The Night of Skills.

In every Valentine’s Day, the Chinese tell the old love story of Niu Lang and Zhi Nu. This story is believed to have existed before Christ and has been handed down for thousands of years. They believe that the constellation Aquila (or Altair in some literature) on the western side of Milky Way is Niu Lang waiting for his wife Zhi Nu who is on the eastern side as the star Vega.

The story begins with a young cowherd Niu Lang, an orphan, who happens to see the seven fairies that had just slipped out of their palace to bathe in a lake. The curiosity-driven Niu Lang steals one of the beautiful silk dresses the fairies had left on the bank. As the youngest, Zhi Nu is picked by her sisters to remain and retrieve the clothes. As Zhi Nu tries to find her clothes, Niu Lang comes out and gives back her clothes. Since Niu Lang is able to see her naked, Zhi Nu must fulfill his request: to marry him.

The two marries and had two children. They live a happy ever after until the Queen of Heaven finds out about her daughter’s absence and his mortal husband. The Queen then forces Zhi Nu back to her former duty of weaving clouds. Together with their two children, Niu Lang goes after his wife. The Queen of Heaven pulls off her hairpin to draw a line just when he is about to reach his wife. Such line separates the two and is called the Silver River in heaven or the Milky Way. The Queen of Heaven gave mercy to the couple, and allowed them to meet once every year on the Silver River.

Because of such sad fate, the magpies pity them and fly up into heaven to form a bridge, called Que Qiao, over the star Deneb in the Cygnus constellation. With this, the lovers will be able to be together for a night. This is the seventh night of the seventh moon.

Through the years, many versions have emerged, but the basic story line remains. Qin Guan during the Song Dynasty in 960-1279 wrote a well-known poem, titled Fairy of the Magpie Bridge. This is one of the most prominent poems telling the tale of love.

The celebration of Chinese Valentine’s Day is largely different from the West’s February 14 festivity. Instead of giving chocolates, flowers, and cards, the Chinese girls prepare fruits like melon and incense as offering to Zhi Nut to be able to gain high skills in needlecraft. In addition, they do melon carving to show their talents. During the night, Chinese people observe the stars.

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Valentine's Day Symbols: The Signs that Define Love

Cutouts of red hearts and flowers adorning almost every place you step into. Pictures of a winged boy with bow and arrows posted on the walls. These images are unmistakable—together with other symbols associated with love, they represent Valentine’s Day. Of course, you are very familiar with all those love symbols scattered all over the place every February. But do you know the stories behind them? Read on to find out the origins and meanings of the different V-day symbols.

Heart

Heart reigns supreme among all symbols associated with the day of love. No wonder about it because the heart is the key organ in sustaining life, just as love is. In the ancient times, the heart was believed to where all emotions come from. Later, the Valentine heart shape became a symbol of love or romance. It is not known, though, when this started. According to scholars, the heart symbol could have originated from the attempts of people in the early times to draw an organ they had never seen. Since then, heart-shaped cards, cakes, cookies, pillows, and other items have become a hit every 14th of February.

Cupid

So who is Cupid? Most people know him as a little chubby winged boy carrying a bow and arrow. In Roman mythology, Cupid is the god of love and son of Venus, the deity of love and beauty. The arrows that he carries symbolize love and desire, and they say when he strikes you with one, you will soon fall in love.

Rose

Why are roses a staple every V-day? It is because roses are considered the messenger of love. How do you express your love to someone so special? Give her red roses. Red represents intense desire, and it is said that red rose was the favorite flower of Venus.

Love Knots

Among the most popular symbols of love are the series of interlacing and twisting loops without beginning or end. That is why love knots are known to signify eternal love. Love knots are said to have come from Ireland. In the Middle East, Muslim women expressed their love to young men by sending love knots woven in carpets.

Love Birds

Found in Africa, these cute, colorful birds are called love birds because they sit closely to each other and appear to be never apart, just as lovers do. Also, many people believe that love birds cannot live long in the absence of their partners. Aside from love birds, swans and doves are also well-known symbols of pure love and loyalty. In many countries, white doves are used in weddings to signify peace, love, loyalty, and good luck.

Lace, Ribbons, and Frills

These symbols are also associated with Valentine’s Day. In the early times, a knight would wear a lace or a ribbon given to him by his loved one before he would go to the battlefield. Another story explains how laces have become the symbol for love. Since hundreds of years ago, laces have been used for making handkerchiefs of women. A woman who likes a man would drop her hanky on purpose, hoping that the man would pick it up for her.

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Origins of Valentine's Day

Though theories on pagan traditions are closer explanations of how Valentine’s Day emerged, several people opted the religious theory of February 14’s origin.

Historical experts—some historians and archaeologists—consider three theories that explain the origins of this universal celebration of love and romance. However, only two of the three theories link the day to romance. The last involves martyrdom during the pre-Christian era.

The first theory considered by historians is the feast of Lupercalia. On February 14, a day before the real festival of Lupercalia begins; the Romans honored Juno who was the queen and goddess of marriage and women of the Roman mythology. On the day of festival, Roman women would write love letters and put them in a large urn so that men could choose from. Then, a man would pursue the woman who authored his chosen letter.

The Eastern people’s tradition of exchanging love letters on February 14 is another theory linking romance and Valentine’s Day. During the Middle Ages, the Europeans believed that birds began to mate on February 14.

The third theory, which is well known today, came from archaeologists who uncover an ancient church and Roman catacomb for St. Valentine. Until now, they are not sure how many Valentines there are. The Catholic Church even recognizes three different saints named Valentine who lived during the third century. All the death of these three Valentines happened on February 14.

The popular one was a Roman priest who practiced Christianity. He celebrated masses and performed marriages against the orders of Emperor Claudius II. Even at the brink of death, the Roman priest did not deny his beliefs. They say that before his death, he sent a friend a note signed “From your Valentine.” This phrase is until now a famous card message.

Following the course of history, people accepted more the Christian origin of Valentine’s Day rather than the two pagan traditions. Hundreds of years after, St. Valentine became the patron saint of lovers and Pope Galasius named February 14 after him. In 1969 however, Pope Paul VI removed the celebration from the calendar. The martyrdom of the saint and the influence of Roman festival in the history made the celebration of Valentine’s Day exist until today.

Modifications of Valentine’s Day happened as time changed. Before, Valentine’s Day cards were custom-made using colored paper and colored inks. There were pinprick cards, cutout designed letters, rebus valentines, and acrostic valentines to name a few.

The first mass-produced card was decorated with black and white pictures in 1800s. Later on, cards were decorated with silk, lace, flowers, feathers, satin, and sometimes golden leaf. Because of advanced technology, modern Valentine’s Day card has become sophisticated. At first, manufacturers made greeting post cards until they also developed cards with recorded romantic messages, pop-out images, and love songs. The introduction of Internet also opened doors for a new way of sending letters. Lovers can now send love letters through electronic mail.

Today, people give chocolates and flowers other than cards. Valentine’s Day is now highly commercialized.

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Love Quotes for Valentine’s Day

Sometimes the maxim “actions speak louder than voice” is true, but it should not always be true. In a relationship, one will need an assurance by word. Saying I love you and expressing how much that person to you is one of the best ways to assure your strong feeling of love. So, on Valentine’s Day, lovers should not forget saying something nice to a person he or she loves.

You might have heard this cliché phrases or used these tried and tested statements:

• You are the love of my life
• You are my only true love
• I cannot live without you

Of course, you might have wanted something different. For instance, a line from the Bible such as “love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not envy, it is not proud...”

If you go for literary pieces, there is this quotable Shakespeare. Listed below are lines from varying literary pieces of Shakespeare:

• Love is not love that alters when alteration finds

• Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind; and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind

• All days are nights to see till I see thee, And nights bright days when dreams do show thee to me


You may also prefer philosopher giants like Socrates, Aristotle and Thoreau. They too are often quoted when they describe the feeling of love.

• The hottest love has the coldest end –Socrates

• Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies –Aristotle

• There is no remedy to love but to love more –Thoreau


Religious icons such as St. Augustine and Mother Teresa also have a lot to say about love.

• Better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all –St. Augustine

• If you judge people, you have no time to love them –Mother Teresa

Love quotes can also be culled from novels, plays and poems like the one from Les Miserables: To love another person is to see the face of God.

Charles Dickens in one of his novels wrote, “Never close your lips to those whom you have opened your heart.” Meanwhile, Charlie Brown wrote, “Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter quite like unrequited love.” Here are some well-known quotes from writers:

• Love is the true means by which the world is enjoyed: our love to others, and others' love to us.” –Thomas Trahern.

• True love never dies for it is lust that fades away. Love bonds for a lifetime but lust just pushes away." – Alicia Barnhart

• "The Eskimos have 52 words for snow because it is so special to them; there ought to be as many for love!" – Margaret Atwood

• Love reckons hours for months, and days for years; and every little absence is an age.” –John Dryden.

Indeed, these quotes are beautiful to hear on Valentine’s Day. However, lovers should not forget that you could never go wrong with real words coming from the heart.

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