Valentines Day Facts and Trivia

Valentine's Day is one of the most popular and well-celebrated holidays in the U.S. and the world.  I did a little research on the history of this holiday and found some interesting facts along the way!


History of Valentine's Day:
Ever wonder how Valentine's Day came to be?  Well, truthfully no one knows for sure and there are many stories and theories regarding the origin of Valentine's Day.  One popular hypothesis is that it began during the Roman Empire era under the reign of Claudius II, 270 AD.  Since the emperor thought that single men made better soldiers than married men, he forbade any soldiers to wed.  One bishop, however, performed secret wedding ceremonies against the emperor's wishes.  Bishop Valentine was jailed and eventually executed (on February 14, 270 AD) for his crime, but while in jail he wrote a love note to the jailor's daughter and signed it "From your Valentine" - an expression that, of course, eventually became a common Valentine's Day phrase.

Interesting Facts and Trivia:

• Think that only men buy flowers on Valentine's Day?  Think again!  While 73 percent of people who buy flowers for Valentine's Day are men, 27 percent are women, and 15 percent of U.S. women send themselves flowers on Valentine's Day!
• But women buy a lot of Valentine's Day cards - 85 percent of all Valentine's Day cards are purchased by women.
• While Christmas is the largest seasonal card-sending Holiday, Valentine's Day is second with about 1 billion Valentine's Day cards being sent.
• About 64 percent of U.S. men make romantic plans for Valentine's Day.
• Cupid became associated with Valentine's Day because he is the son of Venus, the Roman god of love and beauty.  According the Greek mythology, Cupid used magical arrows to inspire feelings of love.  Many a Valentine card shows Cupid holding his bow and arrow.
• During the late 1800's of the Victorian era, Valentine's Day cards became quite popular.  Many of these cards were considered to be indecent and obscene and many countries banned the exchange of Valentine cards.  The Chicago Post Office rejected more than 25,000 cards.
• Today the average American consumer spends about $123.00 on Valentine's Day gifts.

Information links:
SheKnows.com
corsinet.com
ok50.com
AssociatedContent.com