Valentine’s Day is just a day away and has become a very popular holiday for romantics. Some people spend the day going out to dinner or taking a romantic trip with their loved one. Couples exchange gifts and in schools with younger children they have parties and exchange cards and candy. The average American will spend close to $150 on their significant other or spouse alone. Valentine’s Day has not always been about candy and flowers but has a very gloomy history. Here are some interesting facts about valentine's day that we hope you will enjoy.
A look at the History
The Catholic Church has recognized at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, and they were all martyred. One of the various legends that surrounds the holiday has contended that Valentine was a priest that served during the third century in Rome. There was an order from Emperor Claudius II that single men made better soldiers, then ones with wives and children, so he outlawed marriage for younger men. Valentine realized the injustice of the decree and he defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages in secret. When his actions were discovered it was ordered that he be put to his death. His death occurred around February A.D. 270.
February 14th is the day for Engagements
As anyone would expect this day is one of the biggest proposal days? Coming in second only to the Christmas season, the trend is to get engaged on Valentine's day. Who can think of a better day in the year to take that big step? After all getting engaged is a big event. In fact, it is likely that more than one million people will get engaged this Valentine's Day.
Valentines were first sent in the 15th century
Although the first Valentines were sent in the 15th century people did not start exchanging cards until the 17th century. Mass produced Valentine's day cards did not appear until the 1840's. More cards are sent on Valentine's Day than any other day except for Christmas and Teachers receive the most Valentine's Day cards each year.
Flowers are the most popular Valentine's gifts
Not surprisingly, flowers are the most popular valentine's gift. Over 220 million roses get sent on Valentine’s day. The next most popular gift is chocolate and in third place is jewelry.
Big business for retailers
Did you know that approximately 55% of Americans celebrate Valentine's Day? It may surprise you to learn that men and women spend about $18.2 billion dollars a year celebrating this day of love and romance with $1.7 billion dollars spent on candy alone. Those numbers bring sweet thoughts to the minds of candy manufacturers.
Heart-shaped boxes of chocolates
Heart-Shaped boxes of chocolates first appeared in 1868. Every year more than 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolates are sold for valentine's Day. That equates to 58 million pounds of chocolate.
Your furry friend receives Valentines too!
We all know how much pet owners love their dogs so it should come as no surprise that 9 million Americans will buy gifts or cards for their dogs.
Other countries that celebrate Valentine's Day
In addition to the U.S., Valentine's Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Denmark, Italy and Japan.
Variety in Valentine celebrations
Not all countries celebrate Valentine's day and not every country celebrates it the same way. Take Japan for example; In Japan, it's customary for just the women to give candy or sweet confections to the men in their lives, with the quality of the chocolate indicating their true feelings.
