Along with Valentine's Day are certain symbols that reflect the meaning of love and romance. Here is a listing of some of those symbols and a brief synopsis of how each one originated:

1. Heart: In ancient times, the heart was thought to be the source of all emotions. It later came to be associated most directly with the emotion of love. It's not clear when the heart shape became the symbol for the heart organ. Some scholars speculate that the heart symbol, as we use it to signify romance or love, came from people's early attempts to draw an organ they'd never seen.

2. Red roses: These flowers were said to be the favorite of Venus, the Roman goddess of love. Also, red is a color that signifies strong feelings.

3. Lace: This material has long been used to make women's handkerchiefs. Hundreds of years ago, if a woman dropped her handkerchief, a man might pick it up for her. Sometimes, if she had her eye on the right man, a woman might intentionally drop her handkerchief to encourage him. As such, people began to think of romance when they thought of lace.

4. Love knots: These symbols of everlasting love have a series of winding and interlacing loops with no beginning and no end. They were made from ribbon or drawn on paper.

5. Lovebirds: Found in Africa, these colorful birds are so named because they sit closely together in pairs - like sweethearts do. Doves are symbols of loyalty and love because they mate for life and share in the care of their babies.

6. "X": This sign represents a kiss, and the tradition started with the medieval practice of allowing those who could not write to sign documents with an "X." This was done before witnesses, and the signer placed a kiss upon the "X" to show sincerity, which is how the kiss came to be synonymous with the letter "X," and how the "X" came to be commonly used at the end of letters as kiss symbols. Some believed "X" was chosen as a variation on the cross symbol, while others thought it might have been a pledge in the name of Christ, since the "X" - or chi symbol - is the twenty-second letter of the Greek alphabet and has been used in church history to represent Christ.

7. Cupid: The mischievous son of Venus, the Roman goddess of love, Cupid is supposedly responsible for people falling in love. According to myths, anyone being hit by Cupid's arrow falls in love with the first person he or she sees. In Greek mythology, Cupid has Eros, the son of Aphrodite, as his counterpart. The names of both of these gods are used synonymously with the concept of love today.