Your Overland Park Florist grows romance petal by petal just for your Valentine’s Day sweetheart. Our romantic floral designs and Valentine bouquets will help you express your feelings and add extra romance to this special day.
Love is in the air in February, but have you ever wondered why? Here are some facts about Valentine’s Day and the romantic gifts we all desire.
The History of Valentine’s Day
Although specific days in February had long been celebrated by Romans and Catholics as a sacred time, February 14th wasn’t considered a romantic holiday until the 14th century when the tradition of courtly love took England by storm. In the 18th century, Valentine’s Day evolved into an official time to give flowers to the one you love.
Why Do We Give Roses for Valentine’s Day?
Roses are a truly a timeless gift. According to fossil evidence, roses are 35 million years old! There are over 150 species of roses in the Northern hemisphere.
But why are roses considered romantic? Greeks and Romans associated roses with their goddesses of love, Aphrodite and Venus. As a tribute to their goddess and their lovers, the Romans also liked to cover their beds with fragrant rose petals.
William Shakespeare and other poets also learned from the ancients and used roses as a symbol to convey passion, beauty, and romance in their writing. The popular arts and literature helped spread the idea that one of the most romantic gifts a lover can give is a red, red rose.
I Heart You! Possible Origins of the Heart Shape
These days love is often expressed in a text by a simple, cute emoji heart, but how did the image we know as a “heart” become the worldwide symbol for love? There are many theories about this, but two relate to plants.
Some historians believe that the heart originally came from the shape of ivy leaves. Ivy has long symbolized fidelity. Others believe the heart shape comes from an herb. Silphium is a type of fennel. The Greeks and the Romans, in matters of love, used this herb and its seedpod looks remarkably like the modern heart.
Chocolate: The Food of Love
And speaking of aphrodisiacs, chocolate is of course another popular Valentine’s Day gift. Chocolate’s history goes back to King Montezuma and the Aztecs, who called chocolate the food of the gods, but we have Richard Cadbury to thank for officially making it a romantic gift. In 1861, Cadbury was the first to sell heart-shaped boxes of chocolates on Valentine’s Day.
We Grow Love!
No matter how you decide to be romantic on Valentine’s Day your favorite Overland Park Florist, Randy Neal Floral Design, has the right valentine for your Valentine!
Randy Neal Floral Design is a Kansas City based, full service floral design company located at 4030 Indian Creek Parkway in Overland Park Kansas. Providing a broad variety of floral decorating and design services, our floral design team is ready to assist you with any of your interior floral design and decorating needs.