While the phrase is commonly used to express extreme love, some writers have pointed out that the moon is not that far from Earth, relatively speaking. After all, there are only a few hundred thousand miles between the Earth and the Moon. One probably travels that distance several times over the course of a lifetime, so loving someone "to the moon and back" is not necessarily a literal guarantee. Instead, expressing love for someone using this idiom is metaphorical rather than literal and suggests that love is even bigger and more impressive than other simple earthly emotions.
"I love you to the moon and back" can be used to refer to both platonic and romantic feelings of love. A parent might use the phrase to express affection for a child, and two people in love might use it to refer to their romantic attraction and commitment to each other. The phrase is idiomatic and usually used in informal settings.
The origin of "I Love You to the Moon and Back
There are several origin stories for this popular phrase. The idiom has been in common use for at least several decades, on television and in popular culture. Similar phrases include idioms such as "I love you to pieces," "I love you to infinity and beyond," "I love you thus so much" and "I will love you forever.".
Another partial history of the origin of the phrase might be in the popular children's book Guess How Much I Love You By Sam McBratney. Published in 1994, Guess How Much I Love You is a modern children's classic that tells the story of two stuffed rabbits, a father and a son. In the book, Little Nutbrown Hare and Big Nutbrown Hare brag about how much they love each other. Little Nutbrown Hare insists that he loves his daddy as high as he can jump and as far as he can reach. Big Nutbrown Hare, however, he insists he loves his son even more. He eventually tells his son that he loves him "to the moon and back," reassuring him that he loves him so much that he cannot be contained. While the book may not be the first place the phrase appeared, it certainly helped popularize it in the 20th century.
The phrase "I love you to the moon and back" has become an increasingly popular saying and has spawned many more children's books. One is titled I Love You to the Moon and Back, detailing the story of a bear and a cub going on an adventure together. Books and stories based on the popular saying detail the power and extent of love, whether it refers to a parent's love for a child, the love between two romantic partners, or the love between friends and family members.
How we express love
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People can express love in a variety of different ways, and some people are more expressive than others. While many people use common idioms and metaphors such as "I love you to the moon and back" to express their love, others express their love through actions, affirmations, and other behaviors. Psychologists and social scientists often use the five love languages to describe and categorize the different ways people express love. These love languages include gifts, quality time, words of affirmation, acts of service, and physical touch.
Giving and receiving gifts
Some people express and prefer to receive love primarily through the exchange of gifts. If you have a friend, family member, or loved one who is always giving you gifts for birthdays and holidays, and you enjoy selecting, wrapping, and giving gifts as an expression of love, you are probably familiar with gifts as a language of love. Whether it's extravagant gifts or modest, heartfelt items, people who express love in this way like to put a lot of thought and effort into the things they give to others. They may place special emphasis on parties, birthdays, and other special events.
Quality time
People who express their love through quality time enjoy spending time with the people they love, whether completing activities together or simply existing side by side. These people may enjoy participating in shared activities such as sports, walking, hiking, playing games, watching TV, cooking, or other recreational activities. They may also enjoy simply spending time with the people they love while doing separate activities, like reading side by side or pursuing different interests in the same room. People who enjoy quality time may find it especially important to block out time each day to spend with the people they love.
Words of Affirmation
Those who express their love with words of affirmation enjoy verbally communicating their love and appreciation for the people they care about. They may also like to receive words of affirmation themselves. People who like to exchange words of affirmation often use phrases similar to "I love you to the moon and back" to express their love. It may involve telling people they love them, verbally expressing how they care and appreciate other people, and telling people how important or talented they are. People who love to receive words of affirmation may crave verbal expressions of love and praise, and may want their partner to communicate to them in words how they are feeling.
Acts of service
People who express their love through acts of service like to do tasks, errands, and jobs for the people who are important to them. This can be as simple as washing dishes, feeding a pet, taking a car in for service, or running an errand. May also involve cooking, cleaning, and caring for children and other loved ones. Those who express their love through acts of service often like to express their emotions through their actions and may find it more difficult to express love through other physical or verbal methods. They like to play a quiet, encouraging role in the lives of others and make sure their loved ones know they love and support them through their daily actions and habits.
Physical Touch
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Those who express their love through physical touch like to be physically close to those they love. This can include holding hands, cuddling, and romantic physical intimacy. People who express their love in this way often like to express their love without words, relying on non-verbal acts of love to get their message across. They may also enjoy physical activities such as sports, walking and hiking with those they love.
Love and metaphor
When people express their love in words, they often rely on metaphorical and idiomatic language to get their message across. These phrases often use larger than life language to illustrate the magnitude of love being expressed. The words used to describe love often reach into the infinity of space and time to describe how the extreme emotions of love can seem to transcend space and time. Whether you're comparing your love to a celestial body, a large number, a great distance, or an impossible feat, metaphors describing love often use this outsized language to convey a strong and intense emotion.
Metaphors and similes describing love can include stories, allegories, symbolism and other literary devices. While you can always tell someone you love them in plain language, literary devices allow you to distinguish your declarations of love from the crowd, emphasizing how your love is potentially different or stronger than other people's. These metaphors are then frequently incorporated into the language of the culture as a whole and often transformed into stock phrases whose origins are lost in time. Stock phrases, though sometimes stripped of their original origin and meaning, can often be just as useful when trying to express strong feelings of love.