How did the love sign originate?

The very mention of the words 'love' and 'romance' bring an image of a beautiful red heart in our minds. Be it Valentine's Day or any other day, to profess our love to anyone, we conveniently use the love sign with the heart shape, which does the trick every single time. However, have you ever wondered how the heart shape, as we know it today, originated?

There are various theories behind the origin of the heart shape:

• According to one theory, the heart-shape is the botched-up illustration of the human heart. This theory has credibility because many Greek and Roman scholars believed that the heart was the epicenter of the body

• Another theory suggests that the symbol was an inspiration from seedpod, after the now extinct siliphium plant. The plant was used as a form of birth control in North Africa during 7th century. The belief goes that the symbol initially represented sex and later love

• According to the theory held by the Catholic Church, the heart sign came to Saint Margaret Mary Alocoque in a vision in the 1600s. However, the heart was surrounded by thorns; this symbol was later known as the Sacred Heart of Jesus and a representation of his love.

  It is believed that this link of the heart symbol with Catholicism could have resulted in the heart's popularity as a symbol of love

The heart symbol's popularity soared with the exchange of valentines in 17th-century England. During the Victorian era, ribbons and other embellishments were added. The heart sign that we see everywhere with laces and fringes now is all thanks to them.

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