Valentine's Day

What one of us can resist the sweet temptation of a piece of chocolate? I would guess not many of us. Chocolate has long been associated with love. There is also data that Chocolate is an aphrodisiac. There is a chemical in chocolate that causes the release of endorphins in the brain. This release is said to cause a calming and relaxing effect similar to the feelings you feel when near someone you care greatly about.

Did you know that more chocolate is sold on Valentines Day then any other day of the year? Yep it is true and companies like Cadbury and Hershey chocolate count on Valentines Day to boost their yearly bottom line. Some chocolate makers even make special types of chocolate just for the Valentines Day season.

One of the most common questions asked about Valentines Day is when it started and why?

Legend goes that there was a priest named Valentine. Valentine especially enjoyed his job, especially when he could marry young couples that were in love. At the time the Emperor Claudius was in power. Claudius was waging a number of wars and was trying to raise an Army and having a very tough time of it. Initially all the soldiers were volunteers, well just like today young people do not like to volunteer for military service during wartime.

Claudius started to draft all the single young men into his Army. This did not sit well with the young men so they all started marrying their sweethearts to avoid the draft. Claudius got wind of this and made getting married illegal. Well Valentine continued to marry couples and finally got caught.

Valentine was sentenced to death. During his detainment he met a young lady who was the daughter of one of the guards. The two fell in love and spent many hours together in Valentines cell talking about life and love.

The day came for the execution and Valentine wrote the women a message: "With love from your Valentine", the rest as they say is history. PS yes he was executed on February 14th.