Valentine's Day - How to Celebrate the Greatest Love Day of the Year

Valentine's Day is the day when people send their beloved symbols of love, but few are familiar with the true story of the origination of the day.

Valentine's Day, the 14th of February is the day when we celebrate love. The traditionally kept alive by the exchange of love gifts between lovers, or that you send a card to someone you admire secretly. Today there are not many who know that Valentine's Day has its origins in a ritual that dates back for centuries.

A True Romantic

St. Valentine was an evangelic priest who lived near Rome under Claudius 2nd in the 200's.

Claudius refused his young soldiers to marry, since marriage made them less willing to go to war.

Bishop Valentine made ceremony rituals in secret, and when Claudius heard about this "lovers friend ", he had him taken into custody.

Valentine was put to death on February 14th, 269 AD - This date which has since been associated with romance and love throughout the world.

Valentine's Day is the day you should send your girlfriend sweet words and gifts.

The First Valentine Card

The established practice of sending declarations of love on Valentine's Day descent back to St. Valentine himself.

While Valentine's waiting to be executed, he was very attached to his guard Asterius' daughter.

She was sightless, and through his strong faith, Valentine succeeded in miraculously giving her sight back.

It is claimed that Valentine fell in love with his prison guard's daughter, and that he shortly before his capital punishment, asked for writing materials.

He wrote a parting letter and signed it: "From Your Valentine".

In the time that followed, young Romans began to give gifts to women they admired as a sign of their devotion.

In 1415 the first valentine card was sent by the Duke of Orleans, and the phenomenon quickly spread to the rest of the evangelical world.

Symbols and Rituals

The symbols used or received on the valentine cards, may have underlying meanings, which have been associated with romance through the millennia.

The Heart as a Symbol

As a symbol of love the heart have roots far back in time.

It was felt that the heart was the place where all the feelings lay, and by giving one's heart to another individual is the same as giving all one's love.

Wear Your Heart on Your Sleeve

In the medieval times, young women and men drew a piece of paper where the name of their Valentine was written.

They walked around with the name on their sleeves during a whole week.

When we talk about "wear your heart on your sleeve" that means it is no problem for others to see how you feel.

This love lottery still exists in the form of anonymous letters that are delivered and received.

One of the pleasant things about Valentine's Day is just to guess who the secret admirer could be.

Cupid's Love Game

In many valentine cards are the photos of Amor, the Roman god of passionate and playful love, who was the son of Venus, the goddess of love and beauty.

Their Greek counterparts are Eros and Aphrodite, as the words "erotica" and "aphrodisiac" comes from.

According to the old myth, Cupid's lover, the mortal Psyche, fell into an enchanted sleep and killing, and love god had to stab her in the heart with an arrow to wake her to life again.

This symbol, the arrow and the heart, has in a strange way, survived until the present day.

We still use a red heart with two names with an arrow through, as a symbol of love.

The Written Word

When Bishop Valentine wrote his farewell letter to his great love, he signed it "From Your Valentine".

The first true Valentine card was thus not anonymous!

Be bold and write a card to someone you are secretly in love with, and sign it with your name - let the person know whom to invite on a date!

Alternatively, you can write a beautiful and sweet letter to your girlfriend or boyfriend, a friend, mother, father, child, or who you now cherished in your life.

Write about all the good things you love about them.

Be generous with praise words, and ask not for anything in return.

Sign the letter and send it!

Love Incense

If you are single and looking for a soul mate, or to strengthen the love you already have, Valentine's Day is a perfect day to work with the couple relationship.

Apply a love fragrance to enchant your Valentine.

Think of Love

Pour a little rose water in your hands, and rub it in your face, hair and arms.

Spark up a barbecue, and crush some fresh cinnamon and dried rose petals over it.

Sit next to the grill, and inhale the incense.

Think about the meaning behind Valentine's Day while you inhale the incense, and remind yourself of all the lovers around the world that day.

Open the heart, and invite the energy of love into your life.

Searching for Romantic Ideas and Tips to show your special someone that this is exactly what she is? - View this special Valentine's Day website where you among other things, may find unique Valentines Day Gift Ideas or Tips for that perfect rendezvous.

Valentine's Chocolate - A Heartwarming Present to Melt Her Heart

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There is no sweeter gift than a Valentine's Chocolate! It has already been confirmed by many couples that it is the Valentine's chocolate that turns the mood from romantic to sensual. Once the taste buds of the tongue sense the sweetness of the chocolate melting inside the mouth, it sends signals to the brain.

The brain, not only processes the information and identifies it as chocolate, but would also try to locate those happy romantic memories you had with the one who gave you that chocolate. Thus, when eating chocolate, you cannot help but smile and remember those happy times. Furthermore, this is the very reason why many people lavishly eat chocolate when they get depressed.

Chocolate is one of the sought after present for Valentine's Day. The giving of chocolate as gift can be traced back even to the days of the Aztecs. The Aztecs believed that in chocolate, they could obtain spiritual wisdom, superb energy and highly increased sexual performance. They usually served chocolate at wedding ceremonies.

Because they did not have the knowledge about the making of chocolate in those days, they served cocoa as a drink. It has been said that the Emperor Montezuma was greatly addicted to it, and that he lavishly consumed the drink everyday. According to the accounts of the Spanish explorer Cortes, chocolate is a "divine drink" that builds up resistance to combat fatigue, enabling you to walk the whole day without food- just chocolate.

Since the earliest times, chocolate has been believed to be a substance of power that generates vitality. Even the scientific name of the plant - Theobroma Cacao is Greek for "food of the gods".

The establishment of Valentine's Day in 496 A.D. by Pope Galasius I, the 14th day of every February served as the specific day when lovers express their love for one another. This has been traditionally expressed through giving romantic gifts to one another. Hence, the need for Valentine chocolate began. There has been an ever increasing need for Valentine's chocolate in the market. As the demand increases, the production of most quality Valentine's chocolate has been in an ever competitive way. They get better and better each year. They vary from taste, texture, color, smell, shape, and even presentation. Most Valentine's chocolates come to you inside fancy, mostly heart-shaped boxes.

Chocolate induces in us the feelings of passion, romance, and love. That is why it is greatly loved by women. In fact, in a study conducted on the attitude of women toward chocolate and why women need chocolate, 97% of women reported cravings. While the 50% of the women would prefer chocolate over sex, 22% prefer chocolate to set the mood.

This Valentine's day, as I always do every year, I am going to order the most mouth-watering, lusciously made Valentine's chocolate for my beloved. I just cannot wait to see how pleased she will get when I deliver to her the very yummy Valentine's chocolate, stylishly arranged inside a beautifully crafted heart-shaped box. To make it more romantic I may just hide a piece of jewelry inside the box of chocolate. I just cannot help but imagine how sensual the scenes that follow will get. Valentine's chocolate is just simply amazing!