It’s impossible to navigate virtually any kind of retail store in February without seeing displays of pink and red chocolate boxes around every corner. Chocolate has become a standard Valentine’s Day gift, right up there with flowers and jewelry, but the treat didn’t develop its romantic reputation overnight. It took centuries of myths, marketing and traditions to write chocolate into Valentine’s Day history.

The first people to connect love and chocolate were the Mayans. They started brewing drinks made from cocoa beans around 500 B.C. - centuries before the first Feast of St. Valentine. This early hot chocolate was an important part of Mayan wedding rituals. The bride and groom would exchange sips of the beverage during the ceremony, foreshadowing chocolate’s future status as a universal expression of love.

The Aztecs had a less wholesome view of the ingredient. According to legend, the emperor Montezuma II binged huge quantities of cocoa beans to fuel his romantic affairs. Chocolate does contain small amounts of tryptophan and phenylethylamine, two chemicals associated with feelings love and desire, but scientists say there isn’t enough of either substance to make chocolate a strong aphrodisiac.

Stories of chocolate’s effects in the bedroom persisted nonetheless, which might explain why candy-sellers embraced the sweet treats when Valentine’s Day became popular. Cadbury debuted the first heart-shaped box of chocolates in 1861, and it was an instant success. The package was embellished with cupids and roses to appeal to customers shopping for Valentine’s Day gifts. And once the box was empty, it could be used to store keepsakes like love letters and locks of hair.

Cadbury didn’t patent the heart-shaped chocolate box, so the rest of the candy industry started manufacturing similar packaging of their own. It wasn’t long before chocolates became synonymous with the newly-commercialized holiday.

Valentine’s Day chocolates are exchanged around the world, but they’re attached to interesting traditions in some countries. Thanks to a successful marketing campaign, women in Japan have to give “obligation chocolates” to all the men they know on Feb. 14.

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【春药】 chūnyào aphrodisiac arousing or intensifying sexual desire

【纪念品】jìniànpǐn keepsake something that one keeps because of the memories it calls to mind

二月份去逛街，必然会在每个街角的零售店看到各种粉色和红色的巧克力盒。巧克力已经和鲜花、珠宝一样成为一种标准的情人节礼物，但是这一美食不是一夜之间被打上浪漫标签的，而是经过了数个世纪的传说、营销和传统才被写进情人节历史。

最初将巧克力和爱情联系到一起的是玛雅人。玛雅人从公元前500年左右开始用可可豆酿造饮料，比情人节早了几个世纪。这种早期的巧克力热饮是玛雅人婚礼仪式的一个重要部分。新娘和新郎会在婚礼上喝交杯巧克力热饮，这预示着巧克力未来将成为通用的爱情表达方式。

阿兹特克人对巧克力的看法就没有这么纯洁了。传说蒙提祖马二世皇帝会吃大量的可可豆来刺激性欲。巧克力确实含有少量的色氨酸和苯基乙胺，这两种化学物质都和性欲有关，但科学家表示两种物质的含量都不足以让巧克力成为春药。

尽管如此，巧克力对房事效果的传说故事还是流传了下来，这也许可以解释为什么情人节兴起时糖果商会卖这种甜食。1861年吉百利推出了首款心形盒装巧克力立刻大获成功。这种心形盒子装饰了爱神丘比特和玫瑰花的图案来吸引采购情人节礼品的顾客。如果盒子里的巧克力吃光了，还可以用来装情书和头发等纪念品。

吉百利没有为心形巧克力盒申请专利，所以其他糖果厂商开始各自生产类似的包装盒。不久后，巧克力就成了近年被商业化的情人节的代名词。

世界各地都会在情人节交换巧克力，但某些国家有一些有趣的传统。拜成功的营销活动所赐，日本女性必须在2月14日给所有认识的男性送“义理巧克力”。

(chinadaily.com.cn)