Happy Valentine's Day! (20 Fun/Interesting/Weird Facts)

Today's one great holiday for people in love, Valentine's Day! :)


Valentine's Day is a holiday on February 14th honoring an early Christian martyr named Saint Valentine. It was first established by Pope Gelasius I in 496 AD. It is celebrated in hundreds of countries around the world, mostly in the West, although it remains a working day in all of them.
Since the 19th century, handwritten love letters have given way to mass-produced greeting cards, valentines.



I am not going to go into history, because many people know that. Instead, I'm gonna treat you with
20 fun/interesting/weird facts about this date! Enjoy, it's worth it! ;)

1. In reality, there were actually three St. Valentines. One was a priest, one a bishop and one little is known about except he was a martyr. The stories of the priest’s and bishop’s martyrdom are so closely related it is difficult to tell which St. Valentine the Holiday is named after.

2.  Cupid is a symbol of Valentine's Day. Cupid was associated with Valentine's
Day because he was the son of Venus, the Roman god of love and beauty. Cupid often appears on Valentine cards and gift tokens holding a bow and arrows as he is believed to use magical arrows to arouse feelings of love.

3. It is believed that a mount Holyoke college student by the name of Ester Howland created the first lace valentine in the United States from lace, ribbon and colorful pictures. She has become known as the Mother of the Valentine.

4. Teachers receive more valentine cards than anyone else, even children.

5. More than 650 million valentine cards are exchanged by children from ages 6-10 each year. Most of these cards are bought in the last 6 days leading up to Valentine’s day.

6.  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.

7. It was once believed that if a woman saw a flying robin on Valentine’s day she would end up getting married to a sailor. If a sparrow was the bird she saw she would end up marrying a man that was poor and live a happy life, if she saw a goldfinch then she was to marry a man that was a millionaire.

8.  "Love Birds" derives from the belief that birds chose their mates on Feb. 14.

9. More than 9 million pet owners buy gifts for their pets for Valentine’s day. Now that is what can be called real puppy love.

10. It is estimated that 15% of the women in the United States who receive flowers for Valentine’s day send them to themselves.
There are no figures that tell how many of these women are married, single or in a relationship.

11. Approximately 110 million roses, mostly red, will be sold and delivered within the three-day Valentine's Day time period.

12. More at-home pregnancy tests are sold in March than in any other month.

13.  According to the condom company Durex, condom sales are highest around Valentine's Day, which are 20 percent to 30 percent higher than usual.

14. Hallmark produced its first valentine in 1913.

15. The phrase "Sweets for the sweet" is a line from Shakespeare's Hamlet, Act 5, Scene 1.

16. More than 35 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate will be sold for Valentine's Day.

17. Over $1 billion worth of chocolate is purchased for Valentine's Day in the U.S.

18.  One billion valentines are sent each year worldwide, making it the second largest card-sending holiday of the year behind Christmas. Women purchase approximately 85 percent of all valentines.

19. Famous Valentine's Day weddings: 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.

20. Valentine’s Day is forth on the list for the holiday with the most candy sales behind Halloween, Easter, and Christmas.

http://itthing.com/10-interesting-and-weird-facts-about-valentines-day
http://www.wisebread.com/weird-things-you-didnt-know-about-valentines-day


Happy Valentine's Day, Love Birds :)

xo K