Why has St Valentine been associated with love?

As is the case with so many other historical events, there seems to be a plethora of versions all more or less feasible, but I will focus on the ones that have piqued the @shopforgood team’s interest the most!

So here goes: top of our list is Valentine the priest who lost his head for defying the Roman Emperor and marrying young lovers.
 

Claudius II had decreed unmarried men made for better soldiers and therefore forbade them to marry. How was that ever going to succeed ? 😂

The ultimate romantic version for us, however, has to be the Catholic prisoner who fell in love with the jailer’s daughter, and as he was put to death he sent his last message to his lover signing it off as ‘your Valentine’

So it seems that love is intrinsically tied to death. No wonder our late queen is known to have uttered the words ‘grief is the price you pay for love’.

But enough of that. Let’s cast our thoughts to birds. It is said that 14th of February is the start of the mating season and that this is why this date has been chosen to embody love. If you ask me, that can’t have been a choice made in the UK, as February is firmly still ‘chestnuts by the fire’ season!

When was St Valentine’s made commercial in the uk?
It all kicked off in 1840 when Royal Mail made posting cards affordable, promoting a huge surge in mass produced cards all with ready made rhymes, poems and risque verses to tantalise the prudish Victorians.

I can reassure you no card of ours has any risky or titillating content 😉 . Far from it.

We prefer the bold and bright graphics of our Lagom cards.

History lesson over. Red roses are an absolute no no for their damming environmental impact; let’s cast our eye instead at our top sustainable gifts!

If by sustainable you’re thinking durable, that will last you most of a lifetime of bliss, our top seller has to be the Cupple. Just the concept of the two, bottle and cup, being intrinsically linked and yet individual in their one right, is sooo romantic it makes me well up!

Cupple romantic by nature and in name.

If, on the other hand, by sustainable you mean sourced with a conscience, say no more - there’s lots of foodie options that will excite the palate and leave you wanting more. Our Love Cocoa collection of red and pink love heart boxes just says it all, while the chocolate bars infused with notes of champagne or gin will get your loved one chuckling.

If your cup of tea is gifting cups, you will agree with us, this range of mugs is sooo cute that you won’t find it hard to match your loved one to their mate.

An exotic blend of top of the range coffee might just hit the spot for those specialist lovers.

Whichever. Above all else we wish you the bestest day. And remember that ‘there is only one true happiness in life, to love and be loved’.