Valentine Symbols

Cupid:

Has always played an important role in the celebration of Love and Lovers. We got to know him as a mischievous , winged child, whose magic arrows would pierce the heart of his victims, which in term would cause them to fall deeply in love. In ancient Greece, he was known as Eros, the young son of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. To the Romans he was Cupid, and his mother was Venus.

One legend tells the story of Cupid and the mortal maiden Psyche. Venus, jealous of the beauty of Psyche ordered Cupid to punish the mortal. But Cupid fell deeply in love and married her. Psyche, as a mortal, was never allowed to look at him. They were happy until Psyche's sisters convinced her to look at Cupid. He punished her by departing, including their lovely castle and gardens. Psyche found herself alone in an open field.

As she wandered to find her love, she came upon the castle of Venus. Venus, wishing to destroy her Psyche gave her a number of tasks, each harder and more dangerous than the last one. For her last task, Psyche was given a little box and told to take it to the underworld. She was told to get some o the beauty of Proserpine, the wife of Pluto, and place it in the box.

During her trip she was given tips on avoiding the dangers of the realm of the dead. She was also warned not to open the box. But, temptation would overcome Psyche and she opened the box. Instead of finding beauty, she found deadly slumber.

Cupid found her lifeless on the ground. He gathered the sleep from her body and put it back in the box. Cupid forgave her, as did Venus. The gods, moved by Psyche's love for Cupid, made her a goddess.

Heart:

Emotions are feelings, such as love and happiness, anger or fear. Long ago, people believed that all emotions originated in the heart. In later years, it was believed that only emotions of love came from the heart. Until today, the heart is still a symbol of love and is therefore connected with Valentine's Day

Red Rose:

The rose, a favorite flower of Venus, the Roman goddess of love. The color red stands for strong feelings, this is why the red rose has been chosen as the favorite flower of love.

Lace:

Lace, a beautiful fabric made by weaving together fine threads. Hundreds of years ago women carried lace handkerchiefs. If a woman dropped her handkerchief, a man nearby might pick it up and return it to her. Sometime a woman might see a man she wanted to meet. She then dropped her handkerchief on purpose to encourage romance. Soon thereafter, people thought of romance when the thought of lace. They began using paper lace to decorate chocolate boxes and Valentine cards.

Lovebirds and Doves:

Lovebirds are colorful parrots found in Africa. They are called lovebirds because they sit closely together in pairs.

Doves were thought to be the favorite birds of Venus. They remain with the same mate all their lives. Both, male and female care for their babies. Because these birds represent loyalty and love, they are also symbols of Valentine's Day.

Link to other Valentine Site:
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Note:
Some information were compiled from various sources available freely on the Internet. Credits are fully given to the known authors of any material that was used to put this article together. For questions or comments please email: webmaster

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Revised: December 30, 2007 .