For most of us upcoming Valentine’s Day is associated with roses, chocolates, cards and fancy dinners with our loved ones. We are most probably familiar with some basic traditions and history facts but is there anything more to the holiday? There definitely is and you’re about to discover Valentine’s Day from a new perspective.
Chocolate
In the 19th century doctors advised their patients with broken heart to eat chocolate in order to sooth the pain from the lost love. To this day, many women find comfort in a box of chocolates when dealing with heartbreak.- Casanova, well known as “The World’s Greatest Lover,” ate chocolate to make him virile.
- There’s no secret that chocolate and Valentine’s Day go together like Peanut Butter and Jelly. Richard Cadbury from the Cadbury chocolates company is responsible for popularizing Valentine’s Day chocolates. It was him who first presented his beloved one chocolates in a heart-shaped box.
- Now over 35 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate are sold every year on Valentine’s Day.
- In U.S alone people spend over $1 billion worth of chocolate for Valentine’s Day.
Flowers
- 73% of people who buy flowers for Valentine’s Day are men.
- 15% of U.S. women send flowers on Valentine’s Day to… themselves.
- The most popular Valentine’s Day flower is a single red rose surrounded with baby’s breath.
- A red rose is considered the flower of love because of their color that stands for strong romantic feelings.
- Red roses were favorite flowers of Venus, the Roman goddess of love.
- Over 189 million stems of roses are sold in the U.S. on Valentine’s Day.
- While California produces over 60% of American roses, the most flowers sold on Valentine’s Day in the U.S. are imported from South America.
Valentine’s Day Cards
- About 85% of all Valentine’s Day cards are bought by women.
- Over half of all cards are purchased less than a week prior to the holiday, making Valentine’s Day a procrastinator’s delight.
- Teachers will receive the most Valentine’s Day cards, followed by kids, mothers, wives, sweethearts and pets.
Random Facts
Many believe the X symbol became synonymous with the kiss in medieval times. People who couldn’t write their names signed in front of a witness with an X. The X was then kissed to show their sincerity.
- About 3% of pet owners will be spending over $700 million on Valentine’s gifts for their pets.
- 220,000 is the average number of wedding proposals made on Valentine’s Day each year.
- Saint Valentine is the patron saint of lovers and engaged couples. But did you know he is also the patron saint of epilepsy (which St.Valentine is said to have suffered), plague, greetings, travelers, young people, and bee keepers.
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