Fun Facts about Valentine’s Day
It’s almost time for Valentine’s Day. Instead of telling you about romantic getaways, I thought I’d root out some interesting facts about this celebration.
- Valentine’s Day is actually St. Valentine’s Day and it’s named after a couple of Christian martyrs back in the early days of Christianity – Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni. However, the holiday was taken out of the Roman calendar of saints in 1969.
- Next to Christmas, Valentine’s Day is the biggest card sending occasion there is, with around a billion cards sent each year. Who gets most of the cards? Have a guess before you read the next fact.
- Valentine’s Day is big in schools, with teachers receiving the most Valentine’s Day cards (according to My Dear Valentine), followed by children who give and receive about 650 million of those cards. Mothers, wives and girlfriends lag somewhere behind.
- The expression ‘to wear your heart on your sleeve’ is related to Valentine’s Day. In the Middle Ages, men and women would draw the names of their Valentine from a bowl and then would pin the name to their sleeves. There’s no proof, but it’s a nice story.
- Juliet, of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, gets about 1,000 letters a year (come on, people; it was a play!)
- The first box of Valentine’s Day chocolates was produced by Richard Cadbury in the 1800s. It certainly caught on. In the US alone the value of chocolate purchased for the occasion is around $1bn.
- Women buy most of the Valentine’s Day cards, but they get most of the flowers, and it seems men spend more than women do on the occasion.
- Best romantic gesture? It’s got to be the building of the Taj Mahal, which took 22 years and was a memorial for his wife created by Mughal Emperor Shahjahan.
Got any more fun facts to add? While you’re thinking, find out more about Valentine’s Day below:
Photo: Alain Matthes
Tags: holidays, Travel Fun, valentines day
