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.
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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