- Lupercalia, a Roman fertility festival that involved feasting and the pairing of young women with men through a lottery, is often considered the precursor to Valentine’s Day.
- The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine, all of whom were martyred, contributing to the multiple legends surrounding St. Valentine.
- The romantic connotations of Valentine’s Day didn’t emerge until the Middle Ages. It was Geoffrey Chaucer who first linked St. Valentine’s Day with romance in his work, “Parliament of Foules”.
- The Duke of Orleans, Charles, sent the earliest known valentine in 1415 while imprisoned in the Tower of London. Sadly, his wife died before the letter could reach her.
- The phrase “wearing your heart on your sleeve” may have originated from a Middle Ages tradition where men would draw the names of women who they would be coupled with for the upcoming year, wearing these names on their sleeves.
- Esther Howland, a young graduate, started a successful Valentine’s Day card business in the 19th century, revolutionized the American greeting card industry.
- The Victorians popularized the trend of giving flowers on Valentine’s Day, viewing them as a symbol of affection.
- Valentine’s Day is the busiest day of the year for florists, with millions of flower arrangements being delivered across the globe.
- While Valentine’s Day originated as a feast day for St. Valentine, it has largely lost its religious connotations and is now primarily a secular celebration of love.
- The tradition of signing a valentine with an “X” comes from the Middle Ages. People who couldn’t write their names signed with an “X”, which represented a kiss.
- An estimated 145 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged annually, making it the second-largest holiday for giving greeting cards.
- Pet love is also celebrated on Valentine’s Day, with about 25% of pet owners giving gifts to their pets.
- Oliver Chase, the inventor of candy hearts, originally started his career by producing medicinal lozenges before moving into confectionery.
- Valentine’s Day is a sweet holiday, with consumers purchasing over 58 million pounds of chocolate and candy.
- The character Juliet from Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” receives thousands of letters every year from people sharing their stories of love and heartbreak.
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