Read them in the following list: 1. The most popular theory about Valentine’s Day origin is that Emperor Claudius II didn’t want Roman men to marry during wartime. Bishop Valentine went against his wishes and performed secret weddings. For this, Valentine was jailed and executed. While in jail he wrote a note to the jailor’s daugter signing it “from your Valentine”.
2. Teachers will receive the most Valentine’s Day cards, followed by children, mothers, wives, sweethearts and pets.
3. Or 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.
4. If you’re single don’t despair. You can celebrate Singles Awareness Day (SAD) instead. Meant as an alternative to Valentine’s Day, the holiday is for single people to celebrate or to commiserate in their single status.
5. In 1537, England’s King Henry VII officially declared Feb. 14 the holiday of St. Valentine’s Day.
6. Over 50 percent of all Valentine’s Day cards are purchased in the six days prior to the observance, making Valentine’s Day a procrastinator’s delight.
7. In Victorian times it was considered bad luck to sign a Valentine’s Day card.
8. Research reveals that more than half of the U.S. population celebrates Valentine’s Day by purchasing a greeting card.
9. 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.”
10. 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.
11. Based on retail statistics, about 3 per cent of pet owners will give Valentine’s Day gifts to their pets.
12. Women purchase approximately 85 percent of all valentines day gifts
13. The red rose was the favorite flower of Venus, the Roman goddess of love.
14. About 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged each year. This makes it the second largest seasonal card sending time of the year.
15. 189 million stems of roses are sold in the U.S. on Valentine’s Day.
16. Red roses are considered the flower of love because the color red stands for strong romantic feelings.
17. 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.
18. Girls of medieval times ate bizarre foods on St. Valentine’s Day to make them dream of their future spouse.
19. Valentine’s Day started with the Romans. There are two theories about the origin of Valentine’s Day. The first is that the day derives from Lupercalia, a raucous Roman festival on February 15 where men stripped naked and spanked young maidens in hopes of upping their fertility. The second theory is that while the Roman Emperor Claudius II was trying to bolster his army, he forbade young men to marry (apparently single men make better soldiers). In the spirit of love, St. Valentine defied the ban and performed secret marriages. For his disobedience, Valentine was executed on February 14.
20. Physicians of the 1800s commonly advised their patients to eat chocolate to calm their pining for lost love.
21. Over $1 billion worth of chocolate is purchased for Valentine’s Day in the U.S.
22. Husbands and boyfriends like to give bouquets. Men account for 73 percent of Valentine’s Day flower sales.
23. 15 percent of U.S. women send themselves flowers on Valentine’s Day.
24. Money can buy love. The average U.S. consumer spent around $102 on Valentine’s Day gifts, meals and entertainment in 2009, according to an annual U.S. National Retail Federation survey. Roughly 92 percent of married Americans with children will spend most of that money (about $67) on their spouse; the rest goes to Valentine’s Day gifts for kids, friends, coworkers and even pets.
25. 73 percent of people who buy flowers for Valentine’s Day are men, while only 27 percent are women.
26. Americans have a serious sweet tooth. According to the National Confectioners Association, about eight billion candy hearts were made in 2009.
27. Richard Cadbury produced the first box of chocolates for Valentine’s Day in the late 1800s.
28. 220.000 is the average number of wedding proposals on Valentine’s Day each year.
29. There are 119 single men (i.e., never married, widowed or divorced) who are in their 20s for every 100 single women of the same ages. Corresponding numbers for the following race and ethnic groups are: Hispanics: 153 men per 100 women, Asians (single race): 132 men per 100 women (This ratio is not significantly different from that for Hispanics or non-Hispanic whites),
Non-Hispanic whites (single race): 120 men per 100 women, Blacks (single race): 92 men per 100 women (The numbers of black men and women in this age group are not significantly different from one another.
30. More than 35 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate will be sold for Valentine’s Day.
31. The chocolate box has been around for more than 140 years. The first Valentine’s Day box of chocolates was introduced by Richard Cadbury in 1868.
32. Women purchase 85% of all valentines.
33. If you have come across more breakups and divorces than everlasting love and successful marriages, this might cheer you up. The official world record for the longest marriage for a living couple belongs to Herbert and Zelmyra Fisher, who were married for a total of 86 years and 290 days, before Mr. Fisher passed away.
34. Kissing increases a person’s pulse to at least 110 beats per minute (bpm). Well, people in the Philippines came together to get their hearts pumping by locking lips at a particular event called Lovapalooza. More than 5300 couples came together in a mass kissing record attempt back in 2004. This was to beat the previous Guiness World Record of 4445 couples held by Chile. Unfortunately, this record was beaten by a similar attempt in Hungary where 5,875 couples kissed at the Elisabeth Bridge in Budapest in 2005. Not to be outdone, 6124 couples locked lips in Pasay to reclaim the record back for the Phillipines in 2007.
35. In France, there used to be a Valentine’s Day custom called “The Drawing For Love”. Single people of various age groups would enter into houses that were opposite each other and call out through the windows till they paired up. If a male wasn’t happy with his partner, then he could leave her and pair up with someone else. The women who were left single would build a large bonfire and conduct ceremonial burning of the pictures of men who left them high and dry — cursing was included. Of course, it’s easy for feelings to spiral out of control (whether good or bad) and when things got out of hand (as expected), the custom was eventually banned by the French government.
36. Parents receive 1 out of every 5 valentines.
37. In South Korea, the 14th of every month marks a romantic holiday of some sort. That’s 12 presents to prepare. Here’s a quick list of what’s celebrated every month in order: Candle Day, Valentine’s Day, White Day, Black Day, Rose Day, Kiss Day, Silver Day, Green Day (seriousy), Music Day, Wine Day, Movie Day, and Hug Day. Black Day, celebrate on April 14th is the one aimed primarily at single folks. Singles will come together and eat Jajangmyeon, a noodle served with a black bean sauce. They also dress in black, wear black accessories as well as black nail polish. It isn’t all gloomy though; think of it as an annual support group where people eat and talk about their singlehood… until they pair up and become a couple.
38. It is better to have love and lost than never to have love at all. The Qixi Festival is a celebration of love that is based on the love story between a weaver girl and a cowherd. The weaver girl was actually a celestial being; the cowherd, mere mortal. They fell deeply in love and had two children together before they were forced to part, separated by a river until the end of days. Magpies took pity on the two and form a bridge for them every year on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month of the Chinese calendar, reuniting the two and their children for a brief but special moment. Today, the festival is also known as the Magpie Festival as well as the Chinese Valentine’s Day. It inspired similar celebrations in Japan, Korea and Vietnam.
39. Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day are the biggest holidays for giving flowers.
40. California produces 60 percent of American roses, but the vast number sold on Valentine’s Day in the United States are imported, mostly from South America. Approximately 110 million roses, the majority red, will be sold and delivered within a three-day time period.
41. Alexander Graham Bell applied for his patent on the telephone, an “Improvement in Telegraphy”, on Valentine’s Day, 1876.
42. 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
43. In some countries, a young woman may receive a gift of clothing from a prospective suitor. If the gift is kept, then it means she has accepted his proposal of marriage
44. If an individual thinks of five or six names considered to be suitable marriage partners and twists the stem of an apple while the names are being recited, then it is believed the eventual spouse will be the one whose name was recited at the moment the stem broke.
45. It is said that the kind of bird a girl watches on Valentine’s Day predicts her future husband. For instance:
Sparrow: a poor man
Owl: remain spinster
Bluebird: a happy man
Blackbird: a priest or clergyman
Crossbill: an argumentative man
46. To be awoken by a kiss on Valentine’s Day is considered lucky.
47. Valentine’s Day Superstitions: On Valentine’s Day, the first guy’s name you read in the paper or hear on the TV or radio will be the name of the man you will marry. If you see a squirrel on Valentine’s Day, you will marry a cheapskate who will hoard all your money. If you see a goldfinch on Valentine’s Day, you will marry a millionaire. If you see a robin on Valentine’s Day, you will marry a crime fighter. If you see a flock of doves on Valentine’s Day, you will have a happy, peaceful marriage. If you find a glove on the road on Valentine’s Day, your future beloved will have the other missing glove.
48. In the U.S., 64 percent of men do not make plans in advance for a romantic Valentine’s Day with their sweethearts.
49. The most fantastic gift of love is the Taj Mahal in India. It was built by Mughal Emperor Shahjahan as a memorial to his wife.
50. 189 million stems of roses are sold in the U.S. on Valentine’s Day.
Queen of Tears is a popular, successful K-Drama, that became the second highest series in… Read More
"Evil Does Not Exist" is the new film from the Oscar nominated screenwriter and director… Read More
Mufasa: The Lion King is an upcoming American musical drama film directed by Barry Jenkins,… Read More
The Garfield Movie is an upcoming American animated comedy adventure film based on Jim Davis'… Read More
Dove Cameron is an American singer and actress, who rose to fame due to her… Read More
