Chocolate for Valentines day?

I sat down to write about Chocolate for Valentine’s day, which lead me to pondering this day in February dedicated to love.

What is Valentine’s Day? What does it mean to us? Why do we celebrate this specific day in February, in the name of love?

As far as history goes, Valentine’s Day is named after St. Valentine, who has become known as the patron saint of lovers. He was a rather unpredictable figure about whom little is known.

Who was St. Valentine and how did he come to bless lovers’ hearts in the middle of February? One can imagine some combination of a cherubic Cupid and a saintly old man with a nice smile fulfilling that role. The truth is, of course, more complicated. First of all, there was more than one Saint Valentine. There were three.

All three men lived during the 3rd century A.D. Two lived in Italy—Saint Valentine of Rome and Saint Valentine of Terni—while the third resided in a Roman province in North Africa. So which Saint Valentine do we celebrate on February 14th?

That would be the life of Saint Valentine of Rome who, far from being lucky in love on February 14th, was beheaded. Hardly a romantic ending. However, it’s likely that the stories of several Valentines merged into one as Valentius’ (meaning ‘worthy,’ ‘strong’ and ‘powerful’ in Latin) was a popular nickname at the time. Several martyrs ended up with that name.

It is also believed that the Christian church decided to place St. Valentine’s feast day in the middle of February in an effort to “Christianize” the pagan celebration of Lupercalia. Celebrated on February 15, Lupercalia was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture (or to be more specific – the Roman god of the forest, plains and fields, the sounds of the forest being regarded as his voice).

But more interesting than the history of this day – what does this day mean to us? What does it bring forth and how does it feel?

Some people feel that it has become one of those overly commercialized days, with way too much focus on consumerism, and that the root – LOVE – has fallen to the side.

Some feel that it is just silly to have one single day dedicated to LOVE, when all days should be about love.

Some feel extra connected and joyful with their partner, and cherish the opportunity to celebrate the love relation that they have.

Some feel pressured, to have an exceptionally cheerful and successful date day/evening/night with their partner, and then feel like a failure when this is not how the day pans out.

Some are reminded of a recent breakup or loss of love.

Some are reminded of their aloneness, and feel more alone than ever on this day.

Some feel alone and marvel in the joy of being alone.

I feel – that whatever this day brings, and whatever it means to us, at the beginning and the end of the day, it is a day to celebrate LOVE. And this does not mean that we can not celebrate love every other 364 days of the year too. But this day, Valentine’s Day, we can celebrate love a little bit extra. We can be more focused on LOVE. We can treat the one or the ones we love with extra care and pay special attention to those people in our lives. Or to all people in our lives, for that matter.

So, this Valentine’s Day, focus on LOVE, on the LOVE in your heart, and the LOVE in your life.

Bring your relationship/s to the center of attention, feel gratitude for the people in your life.

Reach out and tell people how much you LOVE them.

On a slightly different note, but still on the subject LOVE – CACAO and LOVE are graciously and and greatly connected , and cacao is always an excellent (and very enjoyable) way to open the heart and be more open to love. So, besides reaching out to your loved ones on this day, make sure to eat some CHOCOLATE! Preferably RAW, and preferably free from sugar and other junk that numbs your soul and lowers your vibration.

Because it is Valetine’s Day 2021, we offer 21% off on all our products (until Feb 14th). Enter code “love21”