WHAT IS LOVE?
Today is the day. It comes in colours: red, bright pink, white. It comes with faces: your couple, your friend, your mum, you brother... It comes with plans: for dinner, for a day out, for kisses and chocolate, for special things to share.
FACTS AND FIGURES
- The ancient Romans celebrated the Feast of Lupercalia on February 14th in honor of Juno, the queen of the Roman gods and goddesses. Juno was also the goddess of women and marriage.
- In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who would be their Valentine. They would wear this name pinned onto their sleeves for one week for everyone to see. This was the origin of the expression "to wear your heart on your sleeve."
- In 1537, England's King Henry VII officially declared February 14th the holiday of St. Valentine's Day.
- 1,241: The number of locations producing chocolate and cocoa products in the USA
- The per capita consumption of candy by Americans in 2005 was 25.7 pounds
- The combined wholesale value of domestically produced cut roses in 2005 for all operations with $100,000 or more in sales was $39 million. Among all types of cut flowers, roses were third in receipts ($39 million)to lilies ($76.9 million) and tulips ($39.1 million).
- Research reveals that more than half of the U.S. population celebrates Valentine's Day by purchasing a greeting card.
CHOCOLATE
- Casanova, well known as "The World's Greatest Lover," ate chocolate to make him virile.
- Richard Cadbury produced the first box of chocolates for Valentine's Day in the late 1800's.
- More than 35 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate will be sold for Valentine's Day.
FLOWERS
- 73% of people who buy flowers for Valentine's Day are men, while only 27 percent are women.
- The red rose was the favorite flower of Venus, the Roman goddess of love.
- Red roses are considered the flower of love because the color red stands for strong romantic feelings.
- Approximately 110 million roses, mostly red, will be sold and delivered within the three-day Valentine's Day time period.
FUN FACTS
- The most fantastic gift of love is the Taj Mahal in India. It was built by Mughal Emperor Shahjahan as a memorial to his wife.
- Every Valentine's Day, the Italian city of Verona, where Shakespeare's lovers Romeo and Juliet lived, receives about 1,000 letters addressed to Juliet.
- About 3% of pet owners will give Valentine's Day gifts to their pets.
What do you do to celebrate this lovely day?
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