Welcome to Awakenings

Life IS history in the making. Every word we say, everything we do becomes history the moment it is said or done. Life void of memories leaves nothing but emptiness. For those who might consider history boring, think again: It is who we are, what we do and why we are here. We are certainly individuals in our thoughts and deeds but we all germinated from seeds planted long, long ago.

Saturday, February 13, 2016

♥Quirky Little Hearts♥

Moving on with the 'love' theme, we continue the count down toward Valentine's Day. During my own childhood days, strong remembrances linger playfully in my mind of the cutest Valentine candy ever: the Conversation Hearts. The soft candies spoke very loud having a lot to say, quirky sayings with just a few words. Making the decisions of who should receive what was just as much fun as eating the candy. The wrong one to the right person made for a very taunting day.
  
How many times have you spelled love with tiny candy hearts? Do you know how the sweet morsels of love got started – when, where and by whom? What were they like in the beginning? You know there must be a story from the past to the present. Well, on Valentine's morning awaken those you love to a little trivia. Share newly found knowledge with your family and friends about the all-ages emblem of Valentine's candy to make the day a little more interesting.

Embrace the Past...

1847
Oliver R. Chase of Boston invents and patents the first American candy machine, a lozenge cutter. This marks the founding of the nation's candy industry, the beginning of commercial manufacture. With his brother, Silas Edwin, he founds Chase and Company, the pioneer member of the NECCO family.
1866
Conversation hearts were invented by Daniel Chase, brother of NECCO's founder. These first hearts had printed paper notes tucked inside. The lengthy, old-fashioned sayings included such wistful thoughts as "Please send a lock of your hair by return mail."
Present Day

Every Valentine's Day the company presents new messages on the tiny colored hearts that have been a holiday tradition since the Civil War. NECCO must produce about 100,000 pounds of the candy hearts every day in order to meet the Valentine demand, when about 8 billion hearts are sold in six weeks. In the 21st century, the messages are quite different with some unusual mated pairs, such as, Be Mine, 4 the Weekend; Kiss Me, Just Not in Public; Too Sweet, Need Some Space; I <3 You, Not Ready to Use the L Word yet.

What was/is your favorite Conversation Heart? Each tiny heart in the poem below offers a quick refresher of some original sayings...

Conversation Candy

 (Those quirky little hearts!)

February brings expressions of love
Stamped on tiny candy hearts
Which ones to eat, which ones to share?
Questions arise before sending starts


Valentine, Be Mine, the ones of first choice
Add up to more than just a few
Intended for those very special friends
Some of whom even receive two
 

Next in line, a choice of mine
White with pink letters, Cutie Pie
Sweet and cute as a button
The ones nobody would deny


Let me see, the next ones I’ll eat
Kiss Me, the blue one, quickly disappears
My lips alone enjoy this treat
As a sly grin instantly appears


Then there lay the perfect pair
Best Friends they both represent
Expressly set aside for buddies
With whom the best times I spent 


What's left? Sweetheart, True Love,
Love You Forever, all meant for just one
Gathered, bagged, tied with a string
Stored in a box 'til time to be undone

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