Are you giving or receiving a box of chocolates today?
Oh, I hope you remembered that today is Valentine’s Day. If you have shopped at Walmart in the past two months, you couldn’t forget. I was in my local Walmart two days after Christmas, and they were putting out Valentine’s Day cards and stuffed animals. In December!
Recently, the entrance to my Walmart has been wall to wall heart-shaped boxes of chocolates. They range in size from six inches to over two feet across. Wow!
Valentine’s Day is not my favorite holiday. It might be one of my least favorites because I used to work at a Hallmark store. When I helped frantic men (it was always men) on February 14th pick out a card and gift for their loved one, not because they wanted to, but because it was a particular day of the year, I thought the whole thing was silly. Wouldn’t the gift mean more if people weren’t forced to give it?
Still, heart-shaped boxes of chocolate are popular, and I wondered who created the idea. It turns out it came from everyone’s favorite chocolate-egg-laying-rabbit company, Cadbury.
It should be noted that while Cadbury is known for small chocolate eggs in America, they are the Hershey of England. I like Cadbury eggs and was excited to learn that Cadbury is responsible for the heart-shaped box of chocolates.
In 1840, Victorians in England celebrated Valentine’s Day big time with elaborate gifts and cards. Richard Cadbury had improved chocolate making, and his eating chocolates were very popular. Heart-shaped boxes existed, but he was the first to decorate them with images of cupids and roses and then fill with chocolate.
The gift was actually two gifts. Once the chocolate was eaten, the box could be used to hold trinkets or love letters. Over the years, the boxes became more and more elaborate until World War II when sugar was rationed.
The heart-shaped box might have toned down to the printed cardboard container most of us buy, but antique Cadbury boxes are still prized by collectors. Even with a simpler style, 36 million heart-shaped boxes are going to be sold, especially to men who forgot today is Valentine’s Day.
Whether you celebrate today a lot or not at all, I appreciate all of you for reading this blog. Happy Valentine’s Day!!!