The most popular theory about Valentine's Day's 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 daughter signing it "from your Valentine".
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 gifts to their pets on this day.
About 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged each year. This makes it the second largest seasonal card sending time of the year
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.
Richard Cadbury produced the first box of chocolates for this holiday in the late 1800s.
73 percent of people who buy flowers on this day are men, while only 27 percent are women.
15 percent of U.S. women send themselves flowers on Valentine's Day.
189 million stems of roses are sold in the U.S. on this day.
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.
The oldest known Valentine in existence was written by Charles, The Duke of New Orleans way back in 1415. The Duke is credited with coined the phrase ‘My Valentine’.
I am already sick of love
My very gentle Valentine
The first recorded mention of Valentine’s Day association with romance is said to be in Chaucer’s Parliament of Foules (1382) in which he wrote: “For this was on St. Valentine’s Day, when every bird cometh there to choose his mate.”
In 2011, Iran banned Valentine cards, gifts, teddy bears, and other Valentine tokens as part of an Islamic republic backlash against the spread of Western culture.
Valentine’s Day was first introduced to Japan in 1936 and has become widely popular. However, because of a translation error made by a chocolate company, only women buy Valentine chocolates for their spouses, boyfriends, or friends.
According to Welsh tradition, a child born on Valentine’s Day would have many lovers. A calf born on Valentine’s Day, however, would be of no use for breeding purposes. If hens were to hatch eggs on Valentine’s Day, they would all turn out rotten.
Teachers receive the most Valentine’s cards, followed by children, mothers, and wives. Children between the ages of 6-10 exchange more than 650 million Valentine cards a year.
Casanova, well known as "The World's Greatest Lover," ate chocolate to make him virile.
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