Some scholars speculate that the heart symbol as we use it to signify romance or love came from early attempts by people to draw an organ they'd never seen. Lace 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. So, people began to think of romance when they thought of lace.
Love knots have series of winding and interlacing loops with no beginning and no end.
A symbol of everlasting love, love knots were made from ribbon or drawn on paper. Doves are symbols of loyalty and love, because they mate for life and share the care of their babies. It became easier to mail valentines in the mid 1800s, when the modern postal service implemented the penny post. Until then, postage was so pricey that most cards were delivered by hand. Esther Howland struck gold with the first commercial American valentines.