Valentine’s Day is upon us. Millions of Americans will be lining up to buy their lovers’ chocolate-covered strawberries and bouquets of roses this Valentine’s Day. Let’s uncover the holiday’s history and some other amazing Valentine’s Day facts.
Valentine’s Day started with the Romans.
While the Roman Emperor Claudius II was trying to bolster his army, he forbade young men to marry, because apparently single men make better soldiers. In the spirit of love, St. Valentine defied the ban and performed secret marriages. For his disobedience, Valentine was executed on February 14th.
Passing out Valentines is a 600-year-old tradition.
The oldest record of a valentine was a poem Charles Duke of Orleans wrote to his wife when he was imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1415.
Millions of greeting cards are purchased every year.
144 million greeting cards are being exchanged industry-wide every year for Valentine’s Day in the U.S. alone.
The heart shape wasn’t always a romantic symbol.
The heart was once widely believed to be humans’ center of memory, where feelings of love were recorded. However, we have French and Italian artists from the 14th century to thank for the symbol that we know and love today, as they were the first ones to start using this motif in their work.
Americans spend a lot on love.
According to a survey by the National Retail Federation, Americans spent $20.7 billion on Valentine’s Day in 2019 and were expected to spend $27.4 billion in 2020.
The chocolate box has been around for more than 140 years.
In addition to creating arguably the richest, creamiest, and sweetest chocolate on the market, Richard Cadbury also introduced the first box of Valentine’s Day chocolates in 1868.
It’s not just for humans.
27% of people celebrating Valentine’s Day in 2020 also bought gifts for their pets.
Galentine’s Day has become a very real spinoff holiday.
Galentine’s Day may have originally been a holiday made up by the hit TV show Parks and Recreation back in 2010, but according to the National Retail Federation, since 2010, spending on Valentine’s Day gifts for friends has nearly tripled, going from $737 million to a whopping $2.1 billion.
Roses really are the king of Valentine’s Day florals.
Roses are iconically linked to Valentine’s Day, and it’s not just a stereotype.
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