Valentine’s Day is most romantic day of the year and has been for centuries. The origin of Valentine’s Day likely dates back to the time of the Roman Empire when the pagan fertility festival of Lupercalia was celebrated on February 15th. During the festival, young Roman men and women would pair off as lovers.
Valentine’s Day is believed to have been named after a 3rd century priest who performed secret marriages in defiance of the Roman Emperor Claudius II who thought unmarried soldiers would be more likely to enlist in the army. Legend has it that St. Valentine was executed for his “crimes” on February 14th.
The tradition of sending Valentine’s Day cards likely originated in 1415 when Charles, duke of Orleans, sent several rhymed love letters to his wife in France while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. In 1537, St. Valentine’s Day was declared an official holiday by England’s King Henry VIII. Over the years, people began to send Valentine’s Day love letters using poems copied from booklets of verse. The first commercial valentine appeared in the early 1800s.
In modern times, the patron saint of lovers has been honored by having two U.S. cities named after him: - Valentine, Nebraska - Valentine, Texas
There are also 17 other towns in the United States which have a romantic postmark:
- Lovelady, Texas
- Loving County, Texas
- Loving, New Mexico
- Loveland, Colorado.
- Loveland, Oklahoma
- Loveland, Ohio
- Loveland Park, Ohio
- Lovington, Illinois
- Lovington, New Mexico.
- Lovejoy, Georgia.
- Loves Park, Illinois
- Love County, Oklahoma
- Lovelock, Nevada
- Love Valley, North Carolina
- Romeo, Colorado
- Romeo, Michigan
- Romeoville, Illinois

A dozen other romantic fun facts include:

More than two million couples tie the knot and say “I do” each year in the United States. That averages out to around 6,000 marriages each day in the U.S.
Approximately one billion Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged annually.
One-fourth of Valentine’s Day cards are humorous.
More than half of shoppers spend more than $3 for a Valentine’s Day card.

Gifts accompany one-third of all Valentine cards.
Sweethearts are last on the list when it comes to receiving Valentine’s Day cards. Teachers are first, children come next, followed by mothers, wives and sweethearts.
Consumers over the past few years have spent nearly $650 million annually on Valentine’s Day gifts of flowers, candy, wine, eating out, and jewelry.
Candy comes in second next to cards in popularity for Valentine’s Day. Chocolate is the favorite. Men prefer to give or receive dark chocolate. Women favor milk chocolate.
Around three percent of pet owners give Valentine’s Day gifts to their companion animals.
Some 180 million roses have been produced for Valentine’s Day 2006.
Valentine’s Day ranks No. 1 among holidays when it comes to fresh flower purchases.
Men buy Valentine’s Day flowers for romantic reasons in contrast to women who purchase flowers for their mothers, daughters and friends, as well as sweethearts just to say they care. Many women also treat themselves on Valentine’s Day.

By: Cassie Brill

Sources include:
aboutflowers.com American Greetings Corp Encyclopedia Britannica
Greeting Card Association
The Chocolate Manufacturers Association
U.S. Census Bureau