By Paula Green

Every February 14th Cupid comes a calling as we celebrate Valentine’s Day.  It is traditionally a day we express our love for each other.  The Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately one billion Valentines are sent annually worldwide, making it the second largest card-sending holiday of the year behind Christmas. 

The name Valentine comes from the Latin word valor, meaning worthy.  The first recorded association of Valentine’s Day with romantic love is in Parlement of Foules (1382) by Geoffrey Chaucer.

     For this was on seynt Volantynys day

     Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese [chose]

     His make [mate].

This poem was written to honor the first anniversary of the engagement of King Richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia.

It is believed that Valentine’s Day was imported into North America in the 19th century by British settlers.  In the United States, the first mass-produced Valentines of embossed paper lace were produced and sold shortly after 1847 by Esther Howland (1828-1904) of Worcester, Massachusetts.  Her father operated a book and stationery store, and she took her inspiration from an English valentine she had received.

 In the second half of the 20th century, the practice of exchanging cards was extended to all manners of gifts in the United States, usually from man to woman.  Such gifts typically include roses and chocolates.  In the 1980s, the diamond industry began to promote Valentine’s Day as an occasion for giving jewelry.

Now let’s see how much you can sparkle as we ask some heartfelt questions…because it is time to get a little trivial…

1. What type of bird symbolizes Valentine’s Day?

2. What happens to someone struck by Cupid’s arrow?

3. Who are Shakespeare’s “Star-crossed Lovers?”

4. What is the Greek word for Cupid, God of Love?

5. Where do you “wear your heart” if you are quick to show your feelings?

6. Phenlethylamine is the natural chemical of this addictive sweet Valentine treat?

7. What spice is commonly used in small red heart candies?

8. What other bird, besides a dove, mates for life?

9. What is the largest artery in the heart?

10. What is it called when you have a personal candid talk?

11. What fruit is also known as the “love apple?”

12. What flower is most commonly symbolic of Valentine’s Day?

13. Who kissed the girls and made them “cry?”

14. According to English tradition, what happens “to the first man a woman sees on Valentine’s Day?”

15. Sailors often scratched or carved designs on bone tusk or wood to give as a love token, this hobby was called?

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Sources:

http://en.wikiepedia.org/wiki/St_Valentine’s_day

http://www.theholidayspot.com/valentine/history_of_valentine.htm

http://www.kidsturncentral.com/games/vtrivia3.htm

Answers:

Answers: 1. Dove  2. Lovesick  3. Romeo and Juliet   4. Eros  5. On your sleeve  6. Chocolate  7. Cinnamon  8. Swan  9. Aorta  10. Heart-to-heart  11. Tomato  12. Red rose  13. Georgie Porgie  14. Marry him  15. Scrimshaw

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