Whether you’re a third grader hoping to receive a Valentine card from a special classmate or an 80-year-old couple wanting to show their love for many years of a happy marriage, Valentine’s Day gives us the opportunity to do so. Valentine’s Day is all about that four letter word L O V E. The song “Love Makes the World go Round” takes on special meaning on Valentine’s Day.
There are conflicting stories about the origin of Valentine’s Day, but according to the BBC, Valentine’s Day, celebrated Feb. 14, was named after St. Valentine, a famous priest from Rome in third century AD. Emperor Claudius II had banned marriage because he thought married men were bad soldiers. Valentine felt this to be unfair and broke the rules, arranging marriages in secret. Claudius found out and threw Valentine in jail, sentencing him to death. There, Valentine fell in love with the jailer’s daughter and when he was taken to be killed on Feb. 14, he sent her a love letter signed “from your Valentine.”
Valentine’s Day, a very old tradition, is thought to have originated from a Roman festival. Romans had a festival called Lupercalia in the middle of February, officially the start of their springtime. It is believed that as part of the celebrations, boys drew names of girls from a box, declaring them to be boyfriend and girlfriend during the festival and sometimes they would get married. Later, the church wanted to turn the festival into a Christian celebration and decided to use it to remember St. Valentine. Gradually, St. Valentine’s name started to be used by people to express their feelings to loved ones.
- According to the Greeting Card Association, 190 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged annually, making Valentine’s Day the most popular greeting card-giving occasion, second to Christmas.
- There are 119 single men – never married, widowed, or divorced – in their 20s for every 100 single women of the same age.
- Over two million marriages take place in the United States every year, making more than 6,000 a day.
- Men account for 73 percent of Valentine’s Day flower sales.
- The favorite flower of Venus, the Roman goddess of love, is the red rose. The bud stands for strong romantic feelings, making it the most popular Valentine’s Day bouquets.
- According to an annual U.S. National Retail Federation survey, the average U.S. consumer spent around $102 on Valentine’s Day gifts, meals, and entertainment in 2009. Roughly, 92 percent of married Americans with children spend about $67 on their spouse and the rest for Valentine’s Day gifts for children, friends, co-workers, and pets.
- According to the National Confectioners Association, about eight billion candy hearts were made in 2009.
- The first Valentine’s Day box of chocolates was introduced by Richard Cadbury in 1868.
Whether you spend 99 cents on a greeting card or $1,000 on a piece of jewelry, the thought and meaning are the same. And isn’t it wonderful that no matter how rich or poor we are or how busy or sometimes thoughtless we are, we have one day a year – Valentine’s Day – to tell loved ones how very special they are?
Happy Valentine’s Day.