How Did Chocolate Become a Favorite for Valentines

| Candy Baskets, Valentines Day Gift Ideas

From at least the time of the Aztecs, chocolate has been seen as an aphrodisiac. So we assume that it has been connected to Valentines day for many centuries. However,  that isn’t the case. The roots of Valentine’s Day are ancient but still quite unclear. It’s possible it originated in the pagan Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia.  Then morphed into a much tamer Christian feast day in A.D. 496, when Pope Gelasius I commemorated a martyred saint, Valentine. Or saints. In the third century, the Roman emperor Claudius II executed two men named Valentine on Feb. 14th, albeit in different years. It’s all rather confusing.
By the mid-19th century, Feb. 14 had become the day in Britain (and the U.S.) on which people expressed their affection by exchanging lavish cards decorated with lace, ribbons and plump, bow-and-arrow-wielding Cupids.

Chocolate has been around for centuries, but not in the tasty bars and tantalizing truffles you’re used to. For much of its early history, chocolate was used as a bitter elixir, often ground up with chili pepper or cinnamon by the Ancient Aztecs and Mayans to make it more palatable . The Aztecs are often credited with making the connection between chocolate and love, or at least lust, when 16th-century ruler Montezuma noticed that his ability to “please the ladies” was enhanced after drinking cocoa. Rumor has it that he drank three gallons of the chocolate-y drink a day to increase his libido. Claims like that make chocolate the perfect V-Day gift.

Food of the Gods

The scientific name of the cocoa tree is Theobroma cocoa in Greek: literally translated as ‘Food of the Gods’. What better way to spoil someone than offering them a treat good enough for Gods? Modern day gifts include chocolate roses, chocolate gift baskets and even boxes of chocolates.

Chocolate offers powers of love

The Aztecs created a beverage named ‘Xocolatl’, containing cocoa, honey and vanilla, which was believed to give special powers and arouse passion. The Aztec king would drink this potion before entering his harem, leading Spanish explorers to conclude that this ‘chocolate’ must indeed give special powers of love.

Chocolate to enhance your mood

Historical anecdotes are now supported by scientific evidence. Chocolate – ‘the love drug’ – contains phenylethylalanine. This releases endorphins in your brain, resulting in the same happy feeling you experience when in love.