Facts About Valentine’s Day You Didn’t Know

• One billion valentines are sent each year worldwide, thus making it the second largest card-sending holiday of the country just behind Christmas.
• The average American spends about $119.67 on Valentine’s Day every year, and in which women tends to purchase approximately 85 percent of all valentines.
• Although women always tend to make a bigger deal about Valentine’s Day than men, they are actually miserly when it comes to spending money. Women spend almost half as much on Valentine’s Day as men do.
• People may assume that this day of lovers is only for those in romantic relationships. However, According to a survey, as many as nine million valentines are sent by people for their pets each year. Also, surprisingly as many as 15 percent of U.S. women send themselves roses on this day of lovers to simply save face in front of their judging co-workers.

• As per the condom company Durex, condom sales are highest in the month of February, which is around 20 percent to 30 percent higher than usual. Moreover, the home pregnancy tests are sold more in March than in any other month.
• It is teachers who get the most valentines on the 14th Feb, followed by kids, mothers, wives and sweethearts.
• The oldest surviving valentine is a poem written by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife. He was at that time being held in the Tower of London following his capture in the Battle of Agincourt.
• Hallmark, World’s popular greeting-card company produced its first valentine in 1913. The company today has the staff of 80 persons who just analyze the sales pattern of previous valentines. This analysis combined with more than 120,000 annual customer interviews, focus groups and in-store observations helps the giant company create roughly 2,000 cards in Hallmark’s core Valentine’s Day line.

• In Japan, women are expected to give chocolate and other traditional gifts to men on Valentine’s Day. This tradition first started off as a marketing campaign. Though, men are expected to return the favor on White day celebrated on the March 14th following the Valentine’s Day.
• The history of Valentine’s Day can be traced back to the Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia. In this festival, it was the custom that a young man would draw the name of a young woman in a lottery and would then keep the woman as a sexual companion for the year.
• The Catholic Church struck St. Valentine’s Day from its official calendar in 1969.
• The famous phrase “Sweets for the sweet” is actually a line from Shakespeare’s play Hamlet.

• The Famous Valentine’s Day weddings include The Captain and Tennille, Elton John and Renate Blauel, Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid, Jerry Garcia and Deborah Koons, and Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee.
• Women tend to prefer to express their romantic feelings through a carefully selected greeting card while men prefer the traditional means, flowers.
• Valentine’s Day is a day to rejoice the spirit of love, but it may have started in a pretty unusual way. It is believed that in the middle ages, Emperor Claudius II ordered his soldiers not to get married since he felt that it affects their ability to fight, but a priest named Valentine continued to conduct secret weddings anyway. It is amazing that outlawing marriage could start a holiday about love.

These are some great facts about Valentine’s Day for you to think about! You must always remember that Valentine’s Day is a celebration and not a responsibility. Therefore, enjoy each moment with your beloved. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Valentine’s Day Gift? Name a Star!