Valentine's Day

Overview of our gift ideas for Valentine's Day

Radiant

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Radiant

Long-stemmed bouquet composed of white lilies, light pink roses and other pink seasonal flowers with a touch of red enhanced with greenery.

Add a touch of glamour to your bouquets with this glass vase designed to hold long-stemmed bouquets.

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Wonderful

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Wonderful

A round bouquet of short-stem pink and white flowers accented with a hint of blue or purple (depending on availability at florist's) and assorted greenery.

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All my love

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All my love

Surprise your other half with a stunning bouquet of red roses, mini gerberas and other seasonal flowers enhanced with a light touch of green.

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Orchid with 2 branches

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Orchid with 2 branches

This white potted phalaenopsis 2 orchid will offer a decorative effect most appreciated by the person who will receive it!

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Sweet thoughts

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Sweet thoughts

Round, yellow bouquet with white flowers set off by greenery.

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The patron of lovers was a priest who suffered a martyrs death at the hands of the Romans on 14 February 270. At that time, Valentine had incurred the wrath of Emperor Claudius II, who wanted to do away with marriage. The emperor was of the opinion that married men made abysmal soldiers as they did not want to abandon their families. Claudius, who feared nothing and no-one, abolished marriage. Valentine encouraged young, engaged couples to come to him to have their marriage blessed. He was arrested and imprisoned. While he was in prison and awaiting his execution, he fell in love with the daughter of his prison warder and gave her her eyesight back. Shortly before he was beheaded, he gave her leaves in the shape of a HEART, on which were written: FROM YOUR VALENTINE! (Is this why we say love is blind and you lose your head?)

Lupercalia festival
Even before the Valentines day tradition started, there was a pagan festival in mid-February: the Roman Lupercalia festival. On the occasion of this festival, adolescents had to undergo a rite of initiation. Each young man received the name of a young girl for a whole year. In the year 496, the pope forbade this festival, as it was misogynistic. He established Valentine as the patron of lovers and 14 February as his feast day.

Cupid
In Roman mythology, Cupid is the god of love. He is personified as a young, scantily clothed man with a bow and arrow. It is believed that, if one of his arrows touches you, then you will fall head over heels in love with the first person that you meet.

Colors (symbol)
The most important colour associated with Valentines Day has traditionally been red, but pink and white are equally important. Red symbolises devotion and faithfulness as well as passion white is the colour of purity. pink is a soft, gentle colour. Since 1920, it has also been considered a colour for girls.

Flowers (symbol)
The rose: Another strong symbol associated with Valentines Day is the rose. This flower represents love. More especially, if you give or receive a red rose, it signifies passion.

Heart (symbol)
The heart: the heart is the symbol of love. In a metaphorical sense, you give your heart to the one you love, which means that you trust him or her with your life. This possibly explains the excitement you feel when you feel loved and your heart is fit to burst.

Chocolate
Nowadays, chocolate is a favourite choice to offer as a gift. Why? Some are of the opinion that this is no coincidence. Researchers have actually found out that there is a hormone for desire, the desire for love, phenylethylamine, and that it is also present in chocolate.

Cards with flowers on Valentines Day
When the attraction of the Lupercalia festival was abolished, young Romans assumed another, much more romantic trait. They gave the woman of their dreams greeting cards as a sign of their love. The oldest card that is known was sent by Charles, the Count of Orleans, when he was being held prisoner in the Tower of London. He sent his wife a card with a love poem written on it. In the 19th century, postal delivery became a faster and more affordable means of communication, so greetings were sent by post. It then became possible to send anonymous cards, even quite permissive ones. In some countries, they even became obscene, resulting in this practice having to be banned.

The "XXX" to send kisses
When you write these XXX at the end of a love letter, youre possibly not aware that this is a tradition dating from the start of Christianity, when the X represented the cross, the symbol of faith. For a long time, a cross also served as a signature as only a few people were able to write. If you write an X, then by way of oath, you had to kiss the cross. From this kissing of the cross, X became the symbol for kisses..