In different parts of the world, people don’t just send cards; they buy boxes of chocolate, nostalgic sweets or participate in a romantic and elegant dinner. There are many other ways to celebrate.
People in Europe bake Valentine’s Day buns with caraway seeds, plums, or raisins. People in Italy celebrate a Valentine’s Day party.
In Britain and Italy, some single women get up before dawn on Valentine’s Day. They stand by the window waiting for a man to pass by. They think the first man they see will be the person they marry!
In Denmark, people send pressed white flowers called “Snowdrops” to their friends. Danish men also send a type of valentine called a “gaekkebrev”. This is a letter where the sender writes a rhythm but does not sign his name. Instead, he signs the Valentine with dots, one dot for each letter of his name. The woman has to guess who the sender was!
Although opinions on how Valentine’s Day originated vary, most authorities trace Valentine’s Day back to an ancient Roman festival called Lupercalia. The ancient Romans celebrated the festival of Lupercalia on February 15. During this celebration, young people beat people with strips of animal skin. The women accepted the blows because they thought that the whipping made them more fertile.
Thanks, but no thanks for that. I’ll take a box of candy any day!
Speaking of sweets, when you think of nostalgic sweets, you can’t help but think of “NECCO”. It’s been around since 1847. They’re a staple in what we see as nostalgic candy. They still have several types of candy available such as Clark Bar, Sky Bar, Buttons, and Wafers.
What does this have to do with Valentine’s Day traditions? Have you considered the story of Necco’s Valentine hearts? These sweet little “I love you”s have been around for over a century. This company builds on our history and has been around so long that Necco started out by creating sweets by hand. Thus, that is the origin of these classic sweets. Valentine’s hearts are pretty old; with a legend stating that the tradition of distributing these candied messages of “I love you” dates back to the Civil War.
They have certainly come a long way since then. In 1902, Necco began making his Valentine’s Hearts in a factory. Now they have many different sayings (in fact, they have made over a hundred different sayings). What are some of the favourites? They include “kiss me,” “sweet talk,” and “be mine.”
