What are the first few things
that come to your mind when you
think of Valentine's Day ?
Cupids, flowers, candies, doves
or hearts ? Well it is only
normal to associate these with
Valentine's Day as they pretty
much are the most popular
Valentine's Day symbols. There
are various symbols related to
Valentine's Day, and these
Valentine’s Day symbols often
feature in the gifts and other
tokens of love given out on
February 14 or Valentine's Day.
Cupid is numero uno when it
comes to Valentine’s Day
symbols, but there are many
other symbols of Valentine's Day
which you may be interested to
check out. So read on.
Red Rose
The red rose is as big a symbol
of Valentine's Day as the turkey
is of Thanksgiving ! Roses
symbolize love, compassion,
peace, friendship and romance.
But when it comes to red roses,
they sure stand for one
thing—the intensity of your love
and passion for that special
someone. Now this would be
interesting to note that if you
rearrange the letters in the
word ‘rose’, you get ‘Eros’—the
God of love (or Cupid). So rose
is one of the leading
Valentine’s Day symbols that
rule hearts every February 14.
And apart from the color red,
roses of other colors are also
sent out on Valentine's Day to
convey different messages.
Hearts
Then the heart is the warmest
Valentine’s Day symbol because
it represents love in its purest
form. Giving someone your heart
means giving him/ her the thing
that is most precious and vital
to you. In a nutshell, a heart
symbolizes life !
Birds
Have you and your beloved ever
been called love-birds ? Well,
‘love-birds’ is a word often
used to indicate couples deeply
in love. Birds are an important
Valentine’s Day symbol as it is
widely believed that birds find
their mates on Valentine's Day.
The Herricks have come to
symbolize undying love. Doves on
the other hand, are symbols of
purity, humbleness and virtue.
Pigeons and doves, it is said,
mate for life and so are symbols
of fidelity.
Ribbons and Frills
Ribbons and frills are the
Valentine's Day symbols since
the days of knighthood. It is
said that maidens would give
their beloveds (kings or
soldiers) ribbons and frills
before the latter went to war.
The men used to keep the ribbons
and frills with them while they
fought.
Lace
Lace is also traditionally
associated with love. How, you
ask ? Well, in the past, if a
woman liked a man, she dropped
her lace handkerchief to send a
signal to the man, and if the
man picked it up for her, the
feelings were thought to be
mutual. Apart from lace, another
well-known Valentine's Day
symbol is the love-knot. Love
knots have a series of
intertwining and meandering
knots without any beginning or
end. These are the symbols of
endless and eternal love.
Cupid
Think of Valentine’s Day and
images of cute fat cupids and
throbbing red hearts of various
sizes are sure to dance in your
mind. Why, you ask? Well, the
cupids and hearts are the most
powerful Valentine's Day symbols
as you perhaps already know. The
associations are so strong and
deep-rooted that even a child
will know it’s time for
Valentine’s Day when he/ she
spots cupids and hearts hanging
in shop-windows and greeting
card stores. The chubby cherubic
being and that plush crimson
riot of hearts sweep people off
their feet irrespective of age
and location. Such is the
potential of these two
Valentine's Day symbols—the god
of love, Cupid and the
indispensable pulsating organ
within us, the heart. They
create an instant connection
without any medium of speech and
they symbolize Valentine’s
Day—the day of love !
Cupid is the son of the Roman
goddess Venus, the goddess of
love and beauty. Cupid
consequently became the popular
god of love and it is believed
that whoever Cupid strikes with
his arrow, instantly falls madly
in love. It is for this that the
Cupid has come to be associated
with Valentine’s Day and has
become the most cherished
Valentine's Day symbol. For
those who don’t know, the Cupid
looks like a little child with
an innocent face, golden curls
and blue eyes. He has a pair of
wings and always carries a bow
an arrow with him. So watch out
for the Cupid…Valentine's Day is
here and he may strike you any
moment !
Now there you have the
various symbols associated with
Valentine's Day. So next time
you pick a red rose for your
beloved, or wrap a candy heart
with a ribbon, do remember their
symbolic connotations. That
would ad more meaningfulness to
your Valentine’s Day
celebration, wouldn’t it ? And
Valentine's Day would not have
been half as special without the
Cupids, roses, ribbons, laces,
and decorated hearts around. So
celebrate Valentine's Day with
all the lovely Valentine's Day
symbols and have a simply
fabulous time !
