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The History Of Valentines Day & Chocolate As A Symbol Of LoveWhere in the world did we get Valentine's Day and how did we ever come up with chocolate as the symbol of love and passion? Why do we give the people we love Valentine gift baskets, chocolate gift baskets, gourmet gift baskets, custom spa gift baskets and even gift baskets for him?This lover’s holiday actually originated in 3rd century Rome where legend has it that the Emperor Claudius II ruled that single men made better soldiers than those with wives or families and thus banned marriage for young men. Valentine, a priest, opposed the decree and secretly wed young couples in love. When Valentine’s actions became known, he was ordered to death. Another story holds that Valentine, while imprisoned, fell in love with the jailor’s daughter. Before his death, he allegedly wrote her a letter signed “From your Valentine.” This expression lives on today on the one billion gift cards and Valentine cards sent each year. Another legend is that the Christian church may have started the celebration of Valentine’s Day in mid February to abolish the Roman’s pagan Lupercalia festival. This festival included a ceremony where all of the teenage girls would place their names in a lottery and the bachelors would draw names and choose his sexual companion for the remaining year as a right of passage. The church banned the lottery for wom en and instead, the names of saints were placed in the lottery and the young men were to emulate the virtues of the saint they chose. While the lottery lost appeal, Romans continued to celebrate St. Valentine in their desire for a woman’s affection. The first known valentine card was sent in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. In Great Britain in the 17th century, Valentine’s Day became a popular holiday. The tradition began for lovers and friends to exchange tokens of affection or notes as Valentines gifts. With technology and cheaper postage rates, sending Valentines Day greetings became a way for people to express love in an era when expressing one’s feelings was discouraged. Hand-made valentines first surfaced in America in the early 1700’s. Esther Howland is known as the Mother of the Valentine since she created the first mass-produced Valentines Day greeting cards in the 1840’s that had real lace, ribbons, and colorful pictures. Whether the above stories reflect truth or legend is not as important as the fact that St. Valentine remains one of the most romantic saints today. Valentine’s Day holds the chance for so many people to start new relationships, express love and gratitude, and be romantic and sensual. While greeting cards paved the way to express love on Valentine’s Day, chocolate has been the gift of choice for centuries. The Aztecs associated chocolate with passion, romance, and love and was a special gift in those times. Back then, they consumed cocoa as a drink and it was reportedly used as a source of spiritual wisdom, energy, sexual power, and vitality by the Emperor Montezuma before entertaining his harem. The scientific name for the tree from which chocolate is derived, Theobroma cacao, translated from Greek, means “food of the Gods.” Chocolate has a long history of evoking pleasure, love, fantasy, and seduct ion. Scientifically, there is reason for the “Love of Chocolate!” Chocolate contains organic substances called alkaloids such as theobromine, a stimulant to the kidneys and central nervous system, similar to caffeine. Another alkaloid, phenylethlamine, are endorphins when released into the blood stream, that lift mood and feelings of positive energy. Seratonin is also present that has a calming effect. These chemicals are also present in the brain in the “falling in love” phase. It is no wonder chocolate can evoke so many euphoric feelings. In a survey conducted by Debra Waterhouse, in her book Why Women Need Chocolate, she found 97% of women reported cravings of which 68% were for chocolate, 50% would choose chocolate over sex, and 22% were more likely than men to choose chocolate as a mood elevator. So, choosing chocolates when you need a Valentine Gift for Her or a Valentine Gift for Him is an obvious choice. When someone receives a gorgeous Valentine heart box of beautiful chocolates, all kinds of positive feelings arise. Just the luscious smell, the beauty of gourmet chocolates, the presentation of chocolates in a heart shaped box, how they melt in your mouth, and the savoring of each bite all create an experience to be enjoyed. With so much enjoyment in every piece of heavenly chocolate, why would anyone opt to gift a Valentine card when a chocolate lover is waiting! Extremely aware of the seductiveness, romance, and power of chocolate, Business of Baskets has taste tested a multitude of gourmet chocolates so they can assure recipients truly elegant, heavenly chocolate truffles in a gorgeous Valentine heart candy box. If you are looking for a divinely beautiful Valentine box of candy with amazingly sumptuous gourmet chocolate truffles, they can help you with your Valentine&rsqu o;s Day orders. Remember, Valentine’s Day is not just for lovers. When gourmet chocolates make us feel special and elevate our feelings, this is the perfect Valentine’s gift for wives and husbands, mothers and fathers, children, sisters and brothers, and best friends. If you prefer a Valentine Teddy Bear with chocolate truffles, Business of Baskets at www.businessofbaskets.com offers an adorable teddy bear holding chocolate truffles in a valentine kiss box. If you want to say, “Happy Valentines Day” with a custom Valentine gift basket that includes chocolate truffles, Business of Baskets is happy to help you. Business of Baskets also offers "Naughty-But-Nice" Gift baskets that include Kiss Me Coupons, Foreplay Card Games, Cherry Whipped Cream, Chocolate Marshmello body butter, candles, chocolates, a teddy bear and message oil. Order one TODAY!
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Due to availability, some items in our gift baskets may be exchanged for an item of equal value and quality. © Copyright 2006-2009 Business of Baskets, LLC. All rights reserved. |