Fascinating Facts - Valentine's Day
- Every year around 1 billion Valentine cards are sent.
- Teachers receive the most Valentine's Day cards.
- 85% of all valentines are purchased by women.
- The red rose was the favorite flower of Venus, the Roman goddess of love. The color red stands for strong romantic feelings making the red rose the flower of love.
- Cupid is a symbol of Valentine’s Day because he was the son of Venus, the Roman god of love and beauty.
- Cupid often appears on Valentine cards and gift tokens holding a bow and arrows as he is believed to use magical arrows to arouse feelings of love.
- 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.
- Amongst the earliest Valentine's Day gifts were candies. The most common were chocolates in heart shaped boxes.
- The heart is associated to Valentine's Day as it is considered the source of all human emotions. The custom of drawing a heart shape is supposed to have come from early attempts to draw an organ that no one had seen. The symbol came on to become as a sign of love.
- Doves are also part of the Valentine tradition. These birds are symbols of love and loyalty because they mate for life. A pair of doves will also share the care of all their babies.
- Early Christians saw Valentine's Day as a way to honor St. Valentine. The Catholic Church recognizes three saints by that name - all were martyred on February 14.