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#Retail
Chocolate Hearts
The commercialization of love
Updated: 2022.01.24
4 min read · Basic
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Chocolate Hearts

From flowers to Valentine’s cards and from Tinder to heart shaped chocolates, commercial forms of love are countless. The interaction between consumerism and romantic love is something that’s grown over time, and today, more than thirty percent of all flowers sold are sold on Valentine’s Day. To better understand the way love has grown from hugs and kisses to literal (chocolate) kisses, it can be helpful to explore the commercial history of Valentine’s Day.

St. Valentine’s Day, cited as the beginning of Valentine’s Day, celebrates the early Christian priest Valentinus who defied the order of the Roman emperor and secretly performed Christian weddings for couples, allowing the husbands involved to escape conscription into the pagan army. He was martyred on February 14, and a holiday was created in his honor.

In the late 1700s, Valentine’s Day made its way from Europe to the United States. By that time, the tradition of giving your partner a gift had already been established. In Europe, lovers often exchanged fancy, imported items. As the holiday took root with new traditions in the US, marketing departments across the country capitalized on the opportunity. By 1866, Sweethearts Candy Hearts was created; these are the iconic heart shaped candies with messages like “BE MINE” printed on them.

Less than a decade later, in 1907, Hershey’s introduced their signature [1] “kiss” candies, which got their name because of the sound they made when they were dropped on a conveyor belt. It would be a short while before the play on the word “kiss” made them a popular Valentine’s Day treat. Five years later, Hallmark would introduce its first Valentine’s Day card, which was a large heart with a message inscribed [2] within. The rest, as they say, is history.

In 1995, about a decade after the start of the internet, “match.com,” the precursor to Tinder, was invented. All the lonely folks now had a means of seeking out partners online. Over time, the number of internet dating sites and applications grew, and many of them charge fees for those who want a prime shot at love; in exchange for money, the most eager can have their profiles promoted, shown more frequently, or given other advantages.

The story of human progress has brought with it incredible and at one point unforeseeable [3] changes to the landscape of love. As chocolate hearts reign, take a moment to consider the ways in which you express love.

하트 모양의 초콜릿

꽃에서 발렌타인 카드, 틴더(데이팅 앱)에서 하트 모양의 초콜릿에 이르기까지 사랑의 상업적인 형태는 수없이 많습니다. 소비지상주의와 로맨틱한 사랑 간의 상호작용은 시간이 흐르면서 계속 늘어났고 오늘날 전체 꽃 판매량의 30퍼센트 이상이 발렌타인데이에 팔리고 있습니다. 사랑이 포옹과 키스에서 (문자 그대로) 키세스 초콜릿으로 변모해버린 방식을 더 잘 이해하기 위해서 발렌타인데이의 역사를 상업적인 측면에서 살펴보는 것은 도움이 될 것입니다.

발렌타인데이의 시초로 여겨지는 성 발렌타인데이는 초기 그리스도교 신부인 발렌티누스를 기념하는 날로, 그는 로마 황제의 명령을 거역하고 비밀리에 커플들을 위해 그리스도교식 결혼식을 거행해줌으로써, 결혼한 남자들이 이교도 군대에 징집되는 것을 피할 수 있도록 해주었습니다. 그는 2월 14일에 순교했고 그래서 이날이 그를 기리는 휴일이 되었습니다.

1700년대 후반 발렌타인데이는 유럽에서 미국으로 전파되었습니다. 그때에는 이미 파트너에게 선물을 주는 전통이 자리잡고 있었습니다. 유럽에서 연인들은 종종 다른 나라에서 수입된 고급품들을 교환했습니다. 미국에서 이 기념일이 새로운 전통으로 뿌리를 내리자 전국의 마케팅 부서들은 이 기회를 이용해 이득을 취하려고 했습니다. 1866년에는 스위트하츠 캔디 하트가 처음 생겨났는데 이것은 "내 연인이 되어주세요"라는 글자가 쓰여진 하트 모양의 캔디로 미국 발렌타인데이의 상징적인 상품입니다.

그로부터 10년이 채 지나지 않은 1907년에 초콜릿 회사 허쉬는 컨베이어벨트에 떨어질 때 나는 소리 때문에 그런 이름이 붙은 대표상품 "키세스" 캔디를 선보였습니다. "키스"라는 단어의 효과 덕분에 이것은 곧 인기 있는 발렌타인데이 캔디가 되었습니다. 그로부터 5년이 지난 후 홀마크는 안에 메시지가 새겨진 커다란 하트 모양의 첫 발렌타인데이 카드를 내놓았습니다. 그 이후 이야기는 우리가 아는 대로입니다.

인터넷이 생기고 약 10년이 지난 1995년, 틴더의 전신인 매치닷컴이 탄생했습니다. 외로운 모든 사람들이 이제 온라인에서 짝을 찾을 수 있는 방법을 얻은 것입니다. 시간이 지남에 따라 인터넷 데이트 사이트와 앱의 수는 증가했고 그중 많은 사이트들은 보다 심각하게 사랑을 찾고자 하는 사람들에게 수수료를 부과합니다. 돈을 받는 대가로 회사는 이런 열정적인 사람들의 프로필을 홍보하거나 더 자주 보여주고 이외의 다른 이점들도 제공합니다.

인간이 진보함에 따라 사랑의 영역에는 믿기 어렵고 한때는 예측할 수 없었던 변화들이 일어나고 있습니다. 하트 모양의 초콜릿이 그 영역에 군림하고 있는 오늘날, 여러분 자신은 어떤 방법으로 사랑을 표현하는지 잘 생각해보시기 바랍니다.

Discussion Questions
Q1
In your own words, please briefly summarize the article.
Q2
What does Valentine’s Day mean to you?
Q3
In what ways do you feel that love has become commercialized over time?
Q4
Do you think the commercialization of love is a good or bad thing? Why?
Q5
Are you familiar with Hershey’s “kisses?” Do you know of any similar plays on words?
Q6
What do you think is the relationship between love and candy?
Q7
Valentine’s Day candy often reads “BE MINE.” To own something, can sometimes be seen as an act of love. Why do you think this is?
Q8
If you have a question or questions that you'd like to discuss during your class, please write them down.
Expressions
signature
trademark
例句
1

This restaurant’s signature dish looked good, but tasted quite disgusting.

例句
2

The signature product of the company was probably their phone, but all-in-all, it was still not very well known.

inscribed
marked with characters
例句
1

Inscribed on the walls of the room were the details of his last day.

例句
2

By inscribing the message on that tablet, his fate was sealed.

unforeseeable
not able to be anticipated
例句
1

The lights going out was an unforeseeable event, especially given that it was a hospital.

例句
2

Due to unforeseeable circumstances, the flight had to be cancelled last second.

본 교재는 당사 편집진이 제작하는 링글의 자산으로 저작권법에 의해 보호됩니다. 링글 플랫폼 외에서 자료를 활용하시는 경우 당사와 사전 협의가 필요합니다.

From flowers to Valentine’s cards and from Tinder to heart shaped chocolates, commercial forms of love are countless. The interaction between consumerism and romantic love is something that’s grown over time, and today, more than thirty percent of all flowers sold are sold on Valentine’s Day. To better understand the way love has grown from hugs and kisses to literal (chocolate) kisses, it can be helpful to explore the commercial history of Valentine’s Day.

St. Valentine’s Day, cited as the beginning of Valentine’s Day, celebrates the early Christian priest Valentinus who defied the order of the Roman emperor and secretly performed Christian weddings for couples, allowing the husbands involved to escape conscription into the pagan army. He was martyred on February 14, and a holiday was created in his honor.

In the late 1700s, Valentine’s Day made its way from Europe to the United States. By that time, the tradition of giving your partner a gift had already been established. In Europe, lovers often exchanged fancy, imported items. As the holiday took root with new traditions in the US, marketing departments across the country capitalized on the opportunity. By 1866, Sweethearts Candy Hearts was created; these are the iconic heart shaped candies with messages like “BE MINE” printed on them.

Less than a decade later, in 1907, Hershey’s introduced their signature [1] “kiss” candies, which got their name because of the sound they made when they were dropped on a conveyor belt. It would be a short while before the play on the word “kiss” made them a popular Valentine’s Day treat. Five years later, Hallmark would introduce its first Valentine’s Day card, which was a large heart with a message inscribed [2] within. The rest, as they say, is history.

In 1995, about a decade after the start of the internet, “match.com,” the precursor to Tinder, was invented. All the lonely folks now had a means of seeking out partners online. Over time, the number of internet dating sites and applications grew, and many of them charge fees for those who want a prime shot at love; in exchange for money, the most eager can have their profiles promoted, shown more frequently, or given other advantages.

The story of human progress has brought with it incredible and at one point unforeseeable [3] changes to the landscape of love. As chocolate hearts reign, take a moment to consider the ways in which you express love.

*本教材是專爲使用Ringle學習英文的學員設計。