In his New York Times Magazine articles tracing the history of St. Valentine's Day back to fertility rituals of Eros in ancient Greece and Luperces in ancient Rome, my father-in-law, Jason Epstein, explained how Valentine's Day "conveys a giggling air of carnality and the uncertain promise of raffish coupling." Valentine's Day celebrations stubbornly include fertility symbols: "today's chocolate boxes in the shape of inverted bottoms." You'll never look at a heart-shaped box the same way! Every year, as the days lengthen and animals begin their mating, so we celebrate Valentine's Day with flowers, cards and chocolate booty boxes. The Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately one billion valentines are sent each year worldwide, making the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year, behind Christmas. Children participate by sending cards or candies to schoolmates they appreciate, and adults partcipate by having romantic dinners with rich desserts, giving romantic gifts, sending cards, buying flowers, and, of course, splurging on chocolates in extravagant heart-shaped boxes. Chocolate is associated with this holiday beginning in childhood, and as a child grows into an adult, the subtext may change but the happiness chocolate evokes on Valentine's Day remains the same.
