101Kidz : Holidays : Valentine's Day : Valentine's Day Facts

[]

  • Cupid is a symbol of Valentine’s Day. Cupid was associated with Valentine’s Day because he was the son of Venus, the Roman god of love and beauty.

  • The Roman Lupercalia, a celebration of fertility began on February 14th. The date was later borrowed by the early Christians to celebrate a martyr by the name of Valentine.

  • Ancient Romans believe that birds mated on February 14th.

  • Some people used to believe that if a woman saw a robin flying overhead on Valentine's Day, it meant she would marry a sailor. If she saw a sparrow, she would marry a poor man and be very happy. If she saw a goldfinch, she would marry a millionaire.

  • In the middle Ages, people believed that the first unmarried person of the opposite sex you met on the morning of St. Valentine's Day would become your spouse.

  • Teachers receive the most Valentine's Day cards, followed by children, mothers, wives, and then, sweethearts. Children between ages 6 to 10 exchange more than 650 million Valentine's cards with teachers, classmates, and family members.

  • A single perfect red rose framed with baby's breath is named by some florists as a "signature rose," and is the preferred choice for most for giving on Valentine's Day, anniversaries and birthdays.

  • The red rose was the favorite flower of Venus, the Roman goddess of love.

  • 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.

  • Verona, the Italian city where Shakespeare's play lovers Romeo and Juliet lived, receives about 1,000 letters every year sent to Juliet on Valentine's Day.

  • Amongst the earliest Valentine's Day gifts were candies. The most common were chocolates in heart shaped boxes.

  • In America, the pilgrims used to sent confections, such as sugar wafers, marzipan, sweetmeats and sugar plums, to their lovers. They all contained sugar which was a rare commodity.

  • Every year around 1 billion Valentine cards are sent across. After Christmas it’s a single largest seasonal card-sending occasion.

  • 73% of American men buy flowers on Valentine's Day!

  • Over 90% of Valentine's Day flowers are purchased by men.

  • 15% of U.S. women send themselves flowers on Valentine's Day.

  • England's King Henry VIII declared February 14th a holiday in 1537 for the first time.

  • Alexander Graham Bell applied for his patent on the telephone, on the Valentine's Day, 1876.

  • On February 14, 1779, the natives of Hawaii murdered Captain James Cook the great English explorer and navigator.

back

[]