8 - Happy Valentine's Day!

Here is to a themed day for Valentine's Day! I can't be with my sweetheart today, so hopefully silly facts will make him feel like I am blabbering on like I usually do about history. I hope you all have a wonderful day, either with your sweetheart or single and enjoying an inexpensive day with delicious chocolate in abundance. :]

1) Cupid, the face of Valentine's Day, was the son of Venus, the Roman goddess of love. He is depicted as a a chubby angel-child with a bow and arrow, which the arrows are supposed to cause a magical feeling of love for those hit in the heart.

2) Verona, the Italian city where Shakespeare's lovers Romeo and Juliet lived and died, receives about 1,000 letters every year sent to Juliet on Valentine's Day.

Juliet's balcony and statue in Verona, Italy.

3) The oldest surviving love poem till date is written in a clay tablet from the times of the Sumerians, inventors of writing, around 3500 B.C.

4) In the Middle Ages, to find your Valentine you would draw a name out of a bowl a week before Valentine's Day and pin that name to your sleeve, so your true feelings could be easily seen by others. Thus came the phrase "wearing your heart on your sleeve."

5) In colonial America, sugar was an expensive commodity to have, so sugared treats were a very special gift on Valentine's Day - popular treats for your sweetheart included sugar plums and sweetmeats. After the late 1800's beet sugar became widely produced, and sugary treats continued in popularity for the holiday.

This is the reason we can afford our favorite candies.
Thank you sugar beets!

Happy Valentine's Day! I'll be back soon!