St. Valentine's Day and Chocolates

Somewhere deep within the folds of our memories, everyone can recall 

the first heart-shaped box of Valentine's Day chocolates received.

I never gave the history of Valentine's Day and chocolate much attention

because really, my enthusiasm for a box of chocolates 

normally outweighed any interest in why they were a fitting symbol for the holiday.

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But today, with the chances of my receiving a heart-shaped box of chocolates

 this Friday coming up pretty slim,

I did start to wonder why we give chocolates for St. Valentine's Day.

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Thanks to History.com, we have the connection.

It seems that in the mid-19th century in Victorian England, 

when everyone was snapping up lace-covered,

love bird laden, cherub and flower bedecked paper valentines,

Richard Cadbury was fashioning delicious chocolate candies.

And he reasoned, why not put those chocolate candies

in pretty heart-shaped boxes for those who wanted to give more than a card.

And so he did. He made the first heart-shaped, decorated box

filled with chocolate.

This frilly, now-empty box was recently sold on ebay:

So this year, if  you've been holding back from giving

chocolates for Valentine's Day, you might want to give in.

And for old time's sake,

make sure they're inside a heart-shaped box.

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