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Valentine's Day chocolate

St. Valentine, Chocolate, and Heart Shaped Boxes

February 9, 2014 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

Puppy-with-heart-box-bigstock2578228February 14th means red hearts, candy, flowers and gifts all in the name of St. Valentine. But who was Saint Valentine?

The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different martyred saints named Valentine.  All of the stories emphasize Valentine’s sympathetic, heroic, and romantic appeal.

In one of them, a priest in third century Rome defied Emperor Claudius’ decree outlawing marriage for young men and continued to perform secret marriages — for which he was put to death. Another story suggests that Valentine was killed for trying to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons. In another legend, an imprisoned Valentine sent the first “valentine” message, a letter, to his jailor’s daughter signing it “From your Valentine.”

Valentine’s Day

Some think Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate Valentine’s death around 270 A.D.  Others think the Christian church decided to celebrate Valentine’s feast day in the middle of February in an attempt to “Christianize” the pagan Lupercalia, a fertility festival, which was celebrated at the ides of February (the 15th).

At the end of the 5th century, Lupercalia was pronounced “un-Christian” by the Pope — who made February 14th St. Valentine’s Day. The day became linked with love during the Middle Ages, in part because the French and English believed that February 14 was the beginning of birds’ mating season.

But Why Candy – Especially Chocolate?

The idea of Valentine’s Day as a celebration of romance had taken over most of the English-speaking world by the 1840s. The otherwise prudish Victorians liked the idea of celebrating with elaborate cards and gifts.

Around that time, Cadbury, the British chocolate manufacturer, had improved its chocolate making technique for “drinking chocolate.” The process resulted in an excess amount of cocoa butter and Cadbury used it to produce more varieties of “eating chocolate,” which they started selling in beautifully decorated boxes.

Cupid and Heart Shaped Boxes

It was a quick leap to putting images of roses and Cupid, the Ancient Roman god of love, on heart-shaped boxes for Valentine’s Day. The boxes were so pretty that they were marketed for both the candy inside and to store mementos in after the chocolates had been eaten. The boxes became more and more elaborate until World War II when sugar was rationed and Valentine’s Day celebrations were scaled down.

There is now no lack of sugar, chocolate, or candy dressed up for the holiday. In the US, during the week before Valentine’s Day 448 million dollars are spent on candy, 58 million pounds of chocolate are purchased, and 36 million heart-shaped boxes are sold.

Filed Under: Food for Fun and Thought, Holidays Tagged With: chocolate hearts, cupid, heart shaped boxes, St. Valentine, valentine, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day candy, Valentine's Day chocolate

Chocolate And Valentines: Like Birds Of A Feather They Stick Together

February 8, 2013 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN 1 Comment

Why are about 1.1 billion boxed chocolates — that’s about 58 million pounds of chocolate candy — sold in the United States during the week before Valentine’s Day? Why not twizzlers or gummy bears?

What Is It About Chocolate That Makes It The “Romantic” Candy?

Chocolate infatuation began around 2,000 years ago. The higher echelon in the Mayan and Aztec societies infused cocoa beans with water which formed frothy chocolate drinks that were both drunk on special occasions and used as sacrifices to the gods.

Montezuma, the Aztec ruler, was of the belief that chocolate was an aphrodisiac.  He routinely drank it before dallying in his harem, which cemented the association of chocolate with love and romance. Years later there is scientific evidence that the chemical phenylethylamine found in chocolate is linked to feelings of excitement and attraction.

Aztec society also used cocoa beans as money and as gifts. In the 16th century, the Aztec’s reverence of chocolate prompted Christopher Columbus to take some back to Queen Isabella of Spain. The love for chocolate and its mystical powers spread throughout Europe. Chocolate’s power was believed to be so strong that nuns were forbidden to eat it and French doctors used it as a treatment for a broken heart.

In 1822 John Cadbury opened a tea and coffee shop in Birmingham, England and soon began selling chocolates. In 1861 his son Richard created the first heart-shaped box to fill with chocolates for Valentine’s Day. This year more than 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate will be sold.

Chocolate: The Good And The Not So Good

A pound of milk chocolate has 2300 calories, 140 grams of fat, 270 grams of carbohydrates, and 31 grams of protein. Although a lot has been said about chocolate’s heart healthy benefits, it’s still a high calorie, high fat food.

Isn’t Chocolate Good For Me?

In moderation—and, depending on the type—the answer is yes, although there is no “prescribed dosageamount.” The health benefits of chocolate come from cocoa, and dark chocolate has a greater concentration of cocoa than milk chocolate.  White chocolate, without any cocoa in it, is not really chocolate.

Chocolate, especially dark chocolate, contains flavonols which have antioxidant qualities and other positive influences on heart health.  But Valentine’s chocolates are often not high quality chocolate and are moderately high in fat, one-third of it the type of saturated fat that isn’t heart healthy. Extra ingredients like crème and caramel fillings can add lots of extra fat and calories.

Oh Those Calories:  Valentine’s Hearts And Kisses

There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a treat of some Valentine’s chocolate.  A whole box might be a different story!

Here’s an idea of what the calories might be in some of the more common Valentine’s chocolate:

  • Hershey’s Kisses, 9 pieces:  230 calories, 12g fat
  • Hershey’s Special Dark Hearts, 5 pieces:  220 calories, 7g fat
  • Reese’s Peanut Butter Hearts, snack size:  170 calories, 10g fat
  • Russell Stover boxed chocolates, 2 pieces:  150 calories, 4g fat
  • Dove Dark Chocolate Hearts, 5 pieces:  210 calories, 13g fat
  • Godiva boxed chocolates, 4 pieces:  210 calories, 12g fat

Filed Under: Calorie Tips, Healthy Eating, Food Facts, Food for Fun and Thought, Holidays Tagged With: chocolate candy, heart-shaped candy boxes, holiday, holiday candy, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day candy, Valentine's Day chocolate

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