NJM - The History of Valentine's Day Candy (2024)

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NJM - The History of Valentine's Day Candy? ›

Heart-Shaped Boxes of Chocolates: Richard Cadbury, son of Cadbury founder John Cadbury, created 'fancy' boxes of chocolates to increase sales. He used drawings of his family and Alpine scenes to decorate them. In 1861, he created the first heart-shaped box of chocolates for Valentine's Day.

In the 1860s, during the height of the Victorian era, Cadbury invented the very first heart-shaped chocolate box. After the chocolates had been eaten, the boxes were intended to be used to store sentimental items like love letters, gifts, or locks of hair, all popular practices in Victorian culture.

Conversation hearts were invented by the New England Candy Company (NECCO) in 1902. Originally called Sweethearts, this tasty and chalky treat was stamped with sweet sayings and sold throughout the Valentine's Day holiday season.

The Most Popular Valentine's Day Candy in New Jersey

New Jersey's favorite Valentine's Day candy is heart-shaped boxes of chocolate. The state's second top choice is the holiday-themed M&M's. Following behind this sweet treat is its third choice, Conversation Hearts.

Everybody Wants Chocolate

According to CandyStore.com, 37 out of 50 states in the U.S. prefer some kind of chocolate to any other sort of Valentine candy. Chocolate is the most popular candy for Valentine's Day for a reason.

Heart-Shaped Boxes of Chocolates

By the 1840s, the notion of Valentine's Day as a holiday to celebrate romantic love had taken over most of the English-speaking world. Chocolate manufacturer Richard Cadbury, son of Cadbury founder John Cadbury, took advantage of his country's sweet obsession with Valentine's Day.

Richard Cadbury is largely credited with coining chocolate as the symbolic candy of Valentine's Day since he began selling his chocolates in heart-shaped boxes in 1861.

Turns out, it was a pretty common name during Late Antiquity. As far as anyone can tell, the Saint Valentine of Valentine's Day was one of two guys preaching the good word in Rome in the third century. One of these two was martyred on February 14th 269, thus giving us the date for his eponymous day.

The first known depiction of a heart-shape as a symbol of love was in the 1250's French manuscript the Roman de la poire, in which a young man holds his vaguely pine cone-shaped heart up towards his lady love. Up until the fourteenth century, the heart was usually depicted upside down.

What are the Valentine's Day colors? Pop into any flower shop or even a festive hotel or restaurant and there's no arguing that red, white, and pink are the official colors of Valentine's Day.

What was the top candy in NJ? ›

In a surprising placement, New Jersey's number one candy is the Tootsie Pop with 148,870 pounds sold. The ever popular Reese's Peanut Butter Cup is America's favorite candy. Get local news you can trust in your inbox. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Cupid. If Valentine's Day has a mascot, it's the winged, bow and arrow–wielding baby known as Cupid. Next to the heart, he's the most common symbol of the holiday. His path from powerful Greek God to lovable cherub was not always an obvious one, though.

Sweethearts (also known as conversation hearts) are small heart-shaped sugar candies sold around Valentine's Day. Each heart is printed with a message such as "Be Mine", "Kiss Me", "Call Me", "Let's Get Busy", or "Miss You".

Sweethearts Candy Hearts: In 1866, Daniel Chase developed a machine that could press food dye letters onto the candy lozenges made famous by his brother, New England Confectionery Company (NECCO) founder Oliver Chase. The candy gained popularity and soon became a favorite treat at weddings.

Here's how it breaks down: Heart-shaped boxes of chocolates win the day, taking the top spot in 15 states. Hot on the heels of this Valentine's Day cliche are those chalky little conversation hearts, which ranked in first place in 13 states.

Why is chocolate the main food for Valentine's Day? Chocolate has a long history of being seen as a symbol of love and affection. The ancient Mayans and Aztecs considered chocolate an aphrodisiac and believed it had mystical properties associated with romance and desire.

Eventually chocolate was seen as a lavish ”gift of the gods” in marriage ceremonies. In 1861, a few hundred years after chocolate became a staple in Europe, an aspiring candy maker decided to sell chocolates for Valentine's day in special heart shaped gift boxes that would soon become a popular Valentine's tradition.

Early calendar holidays like Valentine's Day and Easter are associated with candy, as well as the obvious king of all candy events: Halloween.

The heart shape is associated with love because it has long been considered the symbol of the human heart. The heart is the organ that pumps blood throughout the body, but it is also believed to be the seat of emotions and feelings.