Valentine’s Day
Have you ever wondered about the
creation of St. Valentine’s day? Where did it all begin, when did it all start?
Why do we celebrate it? Well there are answers to all these questions, though
there are some disputes over who’s the first real ‘Valentine”. I suppose we
could simply choose the one we like the best and go with that. Suffice to say
it all started years and years ago and to truly understand it (and without me
making a 2 page blog) I have supplied a link that will answer all your
questions (should you be curious enough to check it out) It is most interesting,
as it is a part of history I would urge you to read on.
So now that you know all there is to
know about Valentine’s day (because I know you all have checked out the above
link to satisfy your curious minds), here are some facts you didn’t read concerning
our most loving holiday.
-In Victorian times it was considered bad luck to sign a Valentine’s Day
card.
-Based on retail statistics, about 3 per cent of pet owners
will give Valentine’s Day gifts to their pets.
-About 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged each
year. This makes it the second largest seasonal card sending time of the year
-If you’re single don’t despair. You can celebrate Singles
Awareness Day (SAD) instead.
-You could pop over to Finland where Valentine’s Day is
called Ystävänpäivä, which translates into “Friend’s day”. It's more about
remembering your buddies than your loved ones.
-Many believe the X symbol became synonymous with the kiss
in medieval times. People who couldn't write their names signed in front of a
witness with an X. The X was then kissed to show their sincerity.
-In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl
to see who would be their Valentine. They would wear this name pinned onto
their sleeves for one week for everyone to see. This was the origin of the
expression "to wear your heart on your sleeve."
-In 1537, England's King Henry VII officially declared Feb.
14 the holiday of St. Valentine's Day.
-Physicians of the 1800s commonly advised their patients to
eat chocolate to calm their pining for lost love.
-Richard Cadbury produced the first box of chocolates for
Valentine's Day in the late 1800s.
-More than 35 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate will
be sold for Valentine's Day.
-73 percent of people who buy flowers for Valentine's Day
are men, while only 27 percent are women.
-15 percent of U.S. women send themselves flowers on
Valentine's Day.
-Over $1 billion worth of chocolate is purchased for
Valentine's Day in the U.S.
-Over 50 percent of all Valentine's Day cards are purchased
in the six days prior to the holiday, making Valentine's Day a procrastinator's
delight.
-The red rose was the favorite flower of Venus, the Roman
goddess of love.
-Red roses are considered the flower of love because the
color red stands for strong romantic feelings.
-189 million stems of roses are sold in the U.S. on Valentine's Day.
-Women purchase approximately 85 percent of all valentines
day gifts
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-Teachers will receive the most Valentine's Day cards,
followed by children, mothers, wives, sweethearts and pets.
-220,000 is the average number of wedding proposals on Valentine's Day each year.
-Every Valentine's Day, the Italian city of Verona, where
Shakespeare's lovers Romeo and Juliet lived, receives about 1,000 letters
addressed to Juliet.
So now you know much more about St. Valentine’s Day. It is
a day for love no matter which way you look at it. And love is always special,
it’s what gives purpose and meaning to life (or so I believe). So be good and
kind to each other, and share the love!! :)
Happy Valentine’s day!
