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Published: Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013 / Updated: Monday, Feb. 11, 2013 05:23 PM

Sweet birthday for Freddie, Jimmy & Maggie

Guess what? Not only is tomorrow Valentine’s Day, it’s also National Cream-Filled Chocolates Day.

Doesn’t that seem a little strange?

But I’m not complaining. It’s like you can have your chocolate and eat it, too.

I love chocolate. That’s why I, of all people, should’ve known that February, is National Chocolate Lovers Month. But I just discovered it.

Feb. 1 was National Dark Chocolate Day. Had some! And I wasn’t even aware that I was celebrating anything. Tomorrow is Cream-Filled Chocolates Day. Hoping to have some, preferably in a heart-shaped box. The 19th is Chocolate Mint Day, two of my favorite things. Will definitely have some! And Feb. 28 is Chocolate Souffle Day. I’ve never had a souffle, but there’s a chocolate one in my future.

All this chatter about chocolate is on a website, farmflavor.com. It also listed 26 additional chocolate holidays throughout the year. That makes 30 valid reasons to eat chocolate. Not that I ever even needed one.

I especially liked the question at the bottom of the website: “Which national chocolate holidays will you be celebrating?”

Well, heeeellloooo…like, just every one of them.

This talk of celebrating made me wonder about people who celebrate a birthday on Valentine’s Day. I’m here to tell you, they’re as varied as a box of assorted chocolates.

On the dark side, there’s Jimmy Hoffa (why do I feel like I should be whispering that?) On the light side, there’s Freddie Highmore, he played Charlie in the remake of “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”

But the special one, the one wrapped in gold foil, is Margaret Knight. I see her invention almost every day and I’d never heard of her.

She was born on Feb. 14, 1838. She worked in a paper bag factory. Then, one day, she came up with an idea – the square-bottom paper bag. Go, Margaret! If you were alive, I’d tuck chocolates in a decorated, paper bag and give them to you for your Valentine’s birthday.

I’ve been thinking about chocolate the whole time I’ve been working on this article. I wonder if there’s a heart-shaped box of chocolates hidden around here somewhere. But before I go, here’s my corny little Valentine just for you:

Chocolate Holidays,

& Valentine’s, too,

Will never compare

To readers like you.

Happy Heart Day.

Karen Tomas is a resident of Fort Mill. Email her at brainflurries@aol.com.