春節要吃餃子，元宵節要吃湯圓，中秋節要吃月餅。
如果要用壹種食物代表節日那麽情人節壹定是巧克力了~
不管是在國內還是國外，巧克力已經成為了情人節的首選禮物。
可是妳知道為什麽情人節要送巧克力嗎？
Valentine`s Day cannot be celebrated without chocolate. At this period of the year,everyone has a little thought for their loved ones. And what will naturally comes in mind is a box of chocolate. Why should we offer chocolate on Valentine`s day?
巧克力的口味非常獨特，苦甜交織，如同戀愛的滋味。巧克力中含有的苯基胺可以引起人體內荷爾蒙的變化，這與情侶熱戀的感覺極其相似。而且，在可可中含有的可可堿是壹種健康的反鎮靜成分，可以提升精神、增強興奮。曾經的巧克力還充當過好幾個世紀的“歐洲皇室春藥”，沒錯，最開始的巧克力是用來催情的。沒想到妳竟然是這樣的巧克力。
Chocolate contains a substance called phenylethylamine, a natural substance in the brainthat brings feelings, mostly associated with being in love. It also contains a variety of other elements which may help create a feeling of well-being.
而情人節呢，其實是以兩種不同的羅馬聖徒命名的，他們都叫瓦倫丁，而且都與愛情沒有任何關系。雖然傳說是壹名叫瓦侖廷的神父違背了當時的戰亂年代不允許結婚法則，執意給兩個相愛的年輕人在教堂舉辦婚禮，而後被處死，但是也沒有證據證明這確實發生過。
Valentine`s Day was actually named from two different Roman saints, both called Valentine. Surprisingly, they both are utterly unconnected to romantic love. Although legend persists that the original St. Valentine was a priest who performed illegal marriages for the Emperor Claudius’ soldiers. Of course there is no proof that this ever happened.
第壹次提起情人節是壹個浪漫的節日的時候是1382年傑弗裏·喬叟的作品裏。中世紀時期，純潔但是違法的愛情成為了新焦點，正是因為如此，原來的壹些熟悉的景象也開始出現了，送玫瑰花，唱情歌。但糖在歐洲仍然是壹種很珍貴的商品，所以那時還沒有把糖果作為禮物送出的習慣。
The first mention of St. Valentine`s Day as a romantic holiday appeared in the writings of Chaucer in 1382. The medieval period brought a new focus on illicit and chaste courtly love. Some of the familiar iconography begin to appear. Knights would give roses to their maidens and celebrate their beauty in songs . But candies was still a precious commodity in Europe, so there was no talk of exchanging such expensive gifts.
到了1840年，在西方，情人節就變成了壹個專門慶祝愛情的節日。保守的維多利亞人也開始崇拜騎士的典雅愛情，為心愛的人準備著賀卡和禮物。趁著這場愛情的熱潮，英國壹家巧克力工廠吉百利開始大力銷售他們的巧克力。
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. It was Cupid`s golden age: The prudish Victorians adored the notion of courtly love and showed each other with elaborate cards and gifts. Into this love-crazed fray came Richard Cadbury, scion of a British chocolate manufacturing family. He was the pioneer in the company`s history by increasing the sales of chocolate.
吉百利改進了自己原有的巧克力制作技術，從巧克力豆中提煉出可可脂，生產出比市面上更有口感的巧克力。但在這個過程中導致可可脂過量，而後生產了各種品種的巧克力，並且把他們設計並制作成為了各種精美的禮盒。情人節送巧克力的傳統就這樣壹直延續下去。
Cadbury had recently improved its chocolate making technique by extracting pure cocoa butter from whole beans, producing a more palatable drinking chocolate than most Britons had ever tasted. This process resulted in an excess amount of cocoa butter, which Cadbury used to produce many more varieties of what was then called “eating chocolate.” Richard recognized a great marketing opportunity for the new chocolates and started selling them in beautifully decorated boxes that he called “Cadbury”.So it is a custom that celebrating Valentine's Day with a box of chocolate.
下周壹就是七夕情人節了，不如送她壹盒法派1855巧克力禮盒，甄選法國高端品牌法芙娜制作，壹口即可明白妳的愛意，不用過多的言語，壹起纏綿在巧克力的絲滑中吧。
August 28th is Chinese Valentine`s Day.Have you prepared a present for your other half? Actually, you can buy a chocolate box in Comptoirs de France. All of our chocolates are made with Valrhona chocolate. No one will refuse such a beautiful and tasty gift. Happy Chinese Valentine’s Day~