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Valentine's Day Fun Fact

1) Valentine's Day originated from an ancient Roman festival called Lupercalia, which included pairing young men and women. 2) A priest named Valentine defied Emperor Claudius' decree against marriage and secretly performed ceremonies, resulting in his death on February 14th. 3) Valentine was later named a saint and February 14th became St. Valentine's Day, combining the Roman and Christian traditions.

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283 views4 pages

Valentine's Day Fun Fact

1) Valentine's Day originated from an ancient Roman festival called Lupercalia, which included pairing young men and women. 2) A priest named Valentine defied Emperor Claudius' decree against marriage and secretly performed ceremonies, resulting in his death on February 14th. 3) Valentine was later named a saint and February 14th became St. Valentine's Day, combining the Roman and Christian traditions.

Uploaded by

api-26488999
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Valentine's Day Fun Fact

Here is the most enjoyable and unbelievable


collection of Valentine's Day Fun Facts. Share these
fun facts with your friends to amaze them this
Valentine Day.

• About 1 billion Valentine's Day cards are


exchanged in US each year. That's the
largest seasonal card-sending occasion of the
year, next to Christmas.
• Women purchase 85% of all valentines.
• In order of popularity, Valentine's Day cards
are given to teachers, children, mothers,
wives, sweethearts and pets.
• Parents receive 1 out of every 5 valentines.
• About 3% of pet owners will give Valentine's
Day gifts to their pets.
• Valentine's Day and Mother's Day are the
biggest holidays for giving flowers.
• Worldwide, over 50 million roses are given
for Valentine's Day each year.
• California produces 60 percent of American
roses, but the vast number sold on
Valentine's Day in the United States are
imported, mostly from South America.
Approximately 110 million roses, the majority
red, will be sold and delivered within a three-
day time period.
• 73% of people who buy flowers for
Valentine's Day are men, while only 27
percent are women.
• Men buy most of the millions of boxes of
candy and bouquets of flowers given on
Valentine's Day.
• In the Middle Ages, young men and women
drew names from a bowl to see who their
valentines would be. They would wear these
names on their sleeves for one week. To
wear your heart on your sleeve now means
that it is easy for other people to know how
you are feeling.
• The Italian city of Verona, where
Shakespeare's lovers Romeo and Juliet lived,
receives about 1,000 letters addressed to
Juliet every Valentine's Day.
• Richard Cadbury invented the first Valentines
Day candy box in the late 1800s.
• Alexander Graham Bell applied for his patent
on the telephone, an "Improvement in
Telegraphy", on Valentine's Day, 1876.
• The oldest surviving love poem till date is
written in a clay tablet from the times of the
Sumerians, inventors of writing, around 3500
B.C
• Amongst the earliest Valentine's Day gifts
were candies. The most common were
chocolates in heart shaped boxes.
• In some countries, a young woman may
receive a gift of clothing from a prospective
suitor. If the gift is kept, then it means she
has accepted his proposal of marriage
• If an individual thinks of five or six names
considered to be suitable marriage partners
and twists the stem of an apple while the
names are being recited, then it is believed
the eventual spouse will be the one whose
name was recited at the moment the stem
broke.
• In Medieval times, girls ate unusual foods on
St Valentine's Day to make them dream of
their future husband.

Valentine's Day Superstitions


It is said that the kind of bird a girl watches on
Valentine's Day predicts her future husband. For
instance:
Sparrow: a poor man
Owl: remain spinster
Bluebird: a happy man
Blackbird: a priest or clergyman
Crossbill: an argumentative man

• If an apple is cut in half, the number of seeds


found inside the fruit will indicate the number
of children that individual will have.
• To be awoken by a kiss on Valentine's Day is
considered lucky.
• On Valentine's Day, the first guy's name you
read in the paper or hear on the TV or radio
will be the name of the man you will marry.
• If you see a squirrel on Valentine's Day, you
will marry a cheapskate who will hoard all
your money.
• If you see a goldfinch on Valentine's Day, you
will marry a millionaire.
• If you see a robin on Valentine's Day, you will
marry a crime fighter - maybe they mean
Batman!
• If you see a flock of doves on Valentine's
Day, you will have a happy, peaceful
marriage.

• If you find a glove on the road on Valentine's


Day, your future beloved will have the other
missing glove.

The History of Valentine's Day

Send a Valentine's eCard!

The origins of Valentine's Day trace back to the ancient Roman celebration of Lupercalia. Held
on February 15, Lupercalia honored the gods Lupercus and Faunus, as well as the legendary
founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus.

In addition to a bountiful feast, Lupercalia festivities are purported to have included the
pairing of young women and men. Men would draw women's names from a box, and each
couple would be paired until next year's celebration.

While this pairing of couples set the tone for today's holiday, it wasn't called "Valentine's Day"
until a priest named Valentine came along. Valentine, a romantic at heart, disobeyed Emperor
Claudius II's decree that soldiers remain bachelors. Claudius handed down this decree
believing that soldiers would be distracted and unable to concentrate on fighting if they were
married or engaged. Valentine defied the emperor and secretly performed marriage
ceremonies. As a result of his defiance, Valentine was put to death on February 14.

After Valentine's death, he was named a saint. As Christianity spread through Rome, the
priests moved Lupercalia from February 15 to February 14 and renamed it St. Valentine's Day
to honor Saint Valentine.

What's Cupid Got to Do with It?

According to Roman mythology, Cupid was the son of Venus, the goddess of love and beauty.
Cupid was known to cause people to fall in love by shooting them with his magical arrows. But
Cupid didn't just cause others to fall in love - he himself fell deeply in love.

As legend has it, Cupid fell in love with a mortal maiden named Psyche. Cupid married Psyche,
but Venus, jealous of Psyche's beauty, forbade her daughter-in-law to look at Cupid. Psyche,
of course, couldn't resist temptation and sneaked a peek at her handsome husband. As
punishment, Venus demanded that she perform three hard tasks, the last of which caused
Psyche's death.
Cupid brought Psyche back to life and the gods, moved by their love, granted Pysche
immortality. Cupid thus represents the heart and Psyche the (struggles of the) human soul.

Fun Facts

• Approximately 1 billion Valentine's Day cards are sent each year. Half of those are
sent through Care2 (OK, maybe not HALF... or even half of half... but we are growing
fast!)
• In order of popularity, Valentine's Day cards are given to: teachers, children, mothers,
wives, sweethearts, Koko the gorilla.
• The expression "wearing your heart on your sleeve" comes from a Valentine's Day
party tradition. Young women would write their names on slips of paper to be drawn
by young men. A man would then wear a woman's name on his sleeve to claim her as
his valentine.

Happy Valentine's Day!

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