2010 Love Pansy Flowers 44¢ Postage Stamps Sheet First-Class

The pansy has long been associated with love. The name comes from the French word pensée, or thought, and was so named because the flower resembled a human face. In many cultures around the world, the pansy has been believed to inspire thoughts of a loved one – and even heal a broken heart.

 

According to Greek legend, Eros (known as Cupid in Roman mythology) once shot a love-inducing arrow at a young woman and missed, hitting a flower, turning it purple, and causing it to smile. British playwright William Shakespeare referenced this myth in his play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In his story, mischievous woodland fairies create a love potion from the love-in-idleness plant, “before milk-white, now purple with love’s wound,” to make the characters fall in love.