how to celebrate valentine day

Giving chocolates or candies to someone special on Valentine's Day is the perfect way to say "I love you." Enlarge ImageIn the United States, St. Valentine's Day is the second largest card giving holiday celebrated. Somewhere in the vicinity of 190 million lover's and friend's greeting cards are sent each year. The holiday is said to come to us from ancient Roman Empire times when a priest who was forbidden to perform marriages for the young strapping, healthy Roman soldiers defied Roman law and performed the marriages anyway. He was eventually caught and imprisoned and executed. Now that's romantic. Ever since the early 1700's, Americans have been sending expression of friendship, gratitude, and love to those around them. In the early 1800's, Esther A. Howland produced the first commercial Valentine greeting cards. And even though receiving a beautiful card is wonderful, Americans have demonstrated, by their purchases during this winter holiday, that candy is still our sentiment of preference. More candy, flowers, and (lovey) sentiments are given at Valentine's Day than any other holiday. But, the most popular gift given during this February holiday is the gift of candy. Every February 14th, millions of pounds of candy are purchased to be given to our loved ones as expressions of our devotion. Some 2,000 establishments around the country produce both chocolate and non-chocolate confectionaries, and they are all at their peak sales during the fist thirteen days of February. Shops and stores offer big red hearts filled with a variety of sugar filled delicacies, nuts and sweets nesting in tiny little organdy bags, or just plain old candy bars; it doesn't matter as it is given with love. That's right the holiday is all about love. It is the lover's holiday. This is the time of year for sweethearts to enthrall their honeys with words of devotion and gifts of sweets. The supplies of goodies are unlimited, and the candies nestled in elaborate beribboned boxes are like gold. For some reason, perhaps the value of the cocoa and chocolate products in previous centuries made the gift of candy a real prize. So, when a young suitor showed up to his girl's house with candy under his arm, the object of his affections knew she was highly prized. Today, gifts of candy range from the most costly chocolates, to nuts, sugar-free chocolate, and other confections like nougats, divinity, caramels, and even chocolate roses. There are many ways to say, "I love you" with candy. Be creative, and go out there and get your sweetheart his or her favorite yummy!