40 Fun Valentine’s Day Facts

Blog post originally posted on All VitalChek Blogs, Vital Records

It’s here! The day of love, romance, chocolates and Cupid has finally arrived. It’s celebrated world-wide but do you know the history of Valentine’s Day? Ever wondered why it’s so popular, or why it’s become a holiday filled with candy, flowers and love? We’ve put together 50 Valentine’s Day facts you may not know to help celebrate this day of love!

40 Valentine’s Day Facts

1. In Victorian times, it was considered bad luck to sign a Valentine’s Day card.
2. If you don’t have someone to share your Valentine’s Day with, don’t fret! You can celebrate Singles Awareness Day (SAD) instead. 
3. Day became official. King Henry VII declared February 14th the official holiday of St. Valentine’s Day.
4. 1800’s physicians frequently advised their patients to eat chocolate to ease their love-sickness. That seems reasonable – now chocolates are a common gift on Valentine’s day.
5. Richard Cadbury put together the very first box of chocolates for this holiday in the late 1800s, making the treat a Valentine’s day staple.
6. Don’t have someone this V day? Buy yourself some goodies. 15% of U.S. women send themselves bouquets on Valentine’s Day.
7. Red roses have become a popular symbol of love for romantics. It was the favorite flower of Venus, the Roman goddess of love and the color red tends to symbolize strong romantic feelings.
   
8. Around 220,000 proposals take place on Valentine’s Day each year.
9. In Finland, Valentine’s Day is called Ystävänpäivä, which translates to “Friend’s Day”. They’re more about celebrating great friendships.  Red roses are a symbol of strong romantic feelings.  They were the favorite of the Roman goddess Venus. 
10. Ever wondered why kisses and hugs are represented by “XOXO”? Looking back through the history of Valentine’s Day, it’s believed that people who were unable to write their names during medieval times would sign their name with an X, then kiss it to show their sincerity.
11. Roughly 8 billion candy hearts are produced for Valentine’s Day each year. That’s enough candy to stretch from Valentine, Arizona, to Rome, Italy and back again!
12. Valentine’s day is the 2nd leading holiday for sending cards – the first being Christmas. Approximately 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged every year in the U.S. alone.
13. Here’s a fun bit of Valentine’s Day trivia – the phrase “wearing your heart on your sleeve” has historical meaning. During the middle ages, young people drew the name of their valentine out of a bowl. They were then required to pin the name on their sleeve for a week.
14. On this day in 1876, Alexander Graham Bell applied for his telephone patent.
15. Where does Cupid roll into the history of Valentine’s Day? He happens to be the son of Venus. Venus was the god of beauty and love.  Cupid is a god all on his own!  His mom was Venus, the god of beauty and love! 
16. We don’t want to leave our furry family members out – about 9 million people buy their pets a gift for Valentine’s Day.
17. Penicillin was introduced on February 14th, 1929.
18. After St. Valentine was buried, the daughter of his jailor planted an almond tree with pink blossoms near his grave. Now, the almond tree has become a symbol of lasting friendship and love.
19. Some historians believe that Valentine’s Day began in Ancient Rome as a Pagan fertility festival called Lupercalia.
20. Saint Valentine probably wasn’t one person – while there were a handful of Saint Valentine’s (there was even a pope.) the Saint Valentine we know as the “founder of Valentine’s Day” was most famous for defying Emperor Claudius II. Claudius had banned marriage as he felt it distracted soldiers, so Valentine would wed them in secrecy.
21. Sweethearts, or conversation hearts, were invented in 1866.
22. There’s more to lace than looking pretty for Valentine’s Day decorations or romance – Lace comes from the Latin word lacques, which means to snare or net – to catch a person’s heart.
23. Groundhog Day was originally observed on February 14th.
    
    Conversation hearts, or sweethearts, were invented in 1866.
24. The dove is seen as a romantic symbol and is often associated with Valentine’s Day. It was a popular medieval belief that birds choose their mates on February 14th.
25. In Japan, Valentine’s Day was not introduced until 1936. Only women purchase Valentine’s Day gifts, and oftentimes use this day to reveal their crushes!
26. About 10 new sayings for conversation hearts are introduced every year.
27. In 2010, 39,897 people in Mexico City broke the record for the world’s largest group kiss on Valentine’s Day.
28. The name February derived from a Lupercalia Festival tradition in which boys would run through crowds of people swinging strings made from goatskins. The goatskins were called februa, and if the strings touched a girl it was said that she would have healthy children when she grew up.
29. Welsh tradition states that people with a Valentine’s Day birthday would have many lovers but calves born on this day would be of no use for breeding purposes.
30. On this day in 1919, United Parcel Service (UPS) was formed.
31. Aretha Franklin recorded “Respect” on Valentine’s Day in 1967.
32. Teachers receive the most Valentine’s cards, followed by kids, mothers and wives.
33. The daughter of Henry the IV of France, Madame Royale, loved this holiday so much she named her palace “The Valentine”.
    Men tend to spend twice as much on their Valentine’s as women do!
34. The first American Valentine card was produced in 1834 by New York engraver Robert Elton.
35. The heart shape wasn’t always a symbol of romance – before the 14th century the cute heart we associate with love was meant to represent the anatomical heart, which at the time was believed to be where our memory was held!
36. Men tend to spend twice as much on Valentine’s Day as women. 
37. More at-home pregnancy tests are sold in March than any other month of the year.
38. Hallmark has employed about 80 people to research, analyze, interview customers and create about 2,000 cards for Valentine’s Day each year.
39. The Catholic Church removed Valentine’s Day from it’s official calendar in 1969.
40. Ever heard the phrase “Sweets for the sweet”? It comes straight out of Shakespeare’s Hamlet – Act 5, Scene 1.