Check out these interesting Valentine facts:
About 15% of women in the US send themselves flowers on Valentines.
Cupid is a symbol of Valentine’s Day. Cupid was associated with Valentine’s Day because he was the son of Venus, the Roman god of love and beauty. Cupid often appears on Valentine cards and gift tokens holding a bow and arrows, as he is believed to use magical arrows to arouse feelings of love.
Long before St Valentine lived, February 14th had strong links with fertility. The date traditionally is known for when birds choose their mates.
Verona, the Italian city where Shakespeare’s play lovers Romeo and Juliet lived, receives about 1,000 letters every year sent to Juliet on Valentine’s Day.
In US itself, over 1 billion Valentine cards (second only to Christmas) and 110 million roses are sent out every year.
On February 14th wooden love spoons were carved and given as gifts on Valentine’s Day in Wales. Hearts, keys and keyholes were favorite Valentine decorations on the wooden spoons. This Valentine decoration meant, “You unlock my heart!”
Valentine’s Day is fourth on the list for the holiday with the most candy sales behind Halloween, Easter, and Christmas.
The first box of Valentine’s candy was sent out in late 1800’s.
In the Middle Ages young men and women drew the names from a bowl to see who would be their Valentine. They would wear this name pinned on their sleeves for one week. This was done so that it becomes easy for other people to know your true feelings. This was known as “to wear your heart on your sleeve”.
The oldest surviving love poem till date is written in a clay tablet from the times of the Sumerians, inventors of writing, around 3500 B.C.
Some people believed that if a woman saw a robin-flying overhead on Valentine’s Day, it meant she would marry a sailor and if she saw a sparrow, she would marry a poor man and be very happy. If she saw a goldfinch, she would marry a very rich person.
The expression “wearing your heart on your sleeve” comes from a Valentine’s Day party tradition. Young women would write their names on slips of paper to be drawn by young men. A man would then wear a woman’s name on his sleeve to claim her as his valentine.
Amongst the earliest Valentine’s Day gifts were candies. The most common were chocolates in heart shaped boxes.
Teachers receive the most Valentine’s Day cards, followed by children, mothers, wives, and then, sweethearts. Children between ages 6 to 10 exchange more than 650 million Valentine’s cards with teachers, classmates, and family members.
February 15th was the date of the Roman festival of Lupercalia – the Wolf – where young men held a lottery to decide which girl would be theirs.
A single perfect red rose framed with baby’s breath is named by some florists as a “signature rose,” and is the preferred choice for most for giving on Valentine’s Day, anniversaries and birthdays.
Elaborate handmade messages, cards and gifts became popular during the 17th century.
In Medieval times, girls ate unusual foods on St Valentine’s Day to make them dream of their future husband.
In America, the pilgrims used to sent confections, such as sugar wafers, marzipan, sweetmeats and sugar plums, to their affianced. Lot of value was placed on these gifts because they included what was then a rare product, sugar. After the late 1800’s, beet sugar became widely used and more available, and sweet gifts continued to be cherished and enjoyed.
“Love Birds” derives from the belief that birds chose their mates on Feb. 14. Some believe this fact is one of the origins of the Valentine’s Day Holiday.
By the 19th century printed Valentine’s cards were on sale and extremely fashionable – in 1825 the Post Office handled more than 200,000 letters more than usual on St Valentine’s Day.
The red rose was the favorite flower of Venus, the Roman goddess of love. The color red stands for strong romantic feelings making the red rose the flower of love.
The most beautiful and incredible gift of love is the monument Taj Mahal in India. Built by Mughal Emperor Shahjahan as a memorial to his wife it stands as the emblem of the eternal love story. Work on the Taj Mahal began in 1634 and continued for almost 22 years and required the labor of 20,000 workers from all over India and Central Asia.
3% of pet owners prefer to give Valentine gifts to their pets, their best friends rather than ungrateful humans!
In the Middle Ages, they believed that the first unmarried person of the opposite sex you met on the morning of St Valentine’s Day would become your spouse.
Of the 73% of people who buy Valentine’s Day flowers are men, while only 27 percent are women.
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