The “True Love” of Valentine’s Day

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February 5, 2010 • Kayleigh Loeffler  
Filed under Bucs Life

As Valentine’s Day approaches, more and more people are beginning to see the onslaught of candy arriving in local drugstores and candy shops. Chocolate boxes and candy hearts line the shelves, and everywhere people are scrambling to snag their loved one’s favorite holiday treats. One of the most popular sweeties is the infamous candy hearts collection—manufactured by the company NECCO and appropriately named Sweethearts—this holiday favorite makes its appearance every February. Their classic phrases such as “Be Mine” and “True Love” make them the perfect gift for this romance-oriented holiday. In fact, 8 billion of them are sold each February in preparation for Valentine’s Day.

The history of these little candies began in the mid 1800’s. The brother of NECCO’s founder, Olive Chase, devised a method for printing sayings onto the surfaces of candy, and some had paper notes tucked inside. While the idea was nifty, it was mainly used to add some pizzazz to parties, weddings, or other celebrations, not particularly for Valentine’s Day. It wasn’t until the early 1900’s that the Sweethearts made their official debut, forever changing the hearts and minds of the people that purchased them.

The actual sayings on the candies have been given facelifts throughout the course of the 150 years of their existence, while some are still around today. Phrases that are considered old or outdated are removed, such as “Dig Me” or “You are Gay” (meaning, of course, that a person is happy or jolly). Occasionally some are re-printed for the enjoyment of the customer. Nowadays, the phrases are much more diversified and sometimes even a bit controversial, with a few hearts seen to have phrases such as “Hairy Chest” or “Let’s Sin.” For the most part, however, NECCO tries to keep the candy safe and family-oriented.

Getting the words on the candies is by far the hardest task. Sweethearts are incredibly tiny and only come in two sizes, the standard ½ inch and the special ¾ inch, so finding words that can fit in that small amount of space can be tricky. The smaller hearts are only able to hold, on average, about two four-letter words, while the larger ones can hold two six-lettered words. In order to put more on the hearts, creative phrasing such as “EZ 2 Love” is used.

All throughout the country, Sweethearts are an iconic symbol for Valentine’s Day. From people looking for a clever way to express their appreciation of love for the people they care about, to those that just want a yummy treat to munch on can enjoy these sweet little candies.