We all know that Valentine’s Day takes up a full aisle in the grocery store and even more emotional real estate. But do you know any actual facts about the holiday that makes people go out in the snow to shop for chocolate, engagement rings and/or lingerie? Let’s take a moment to think the history of February 14th and the consequences it hath wrought.
- Cupid was originally known as Eros, the Greek god of love, whose golden arrows aroused desire.
- An estimated 224 million roses are grown for Valentine’s Day and 51% of people buy red roses for their valentines.
- The world’s largest box of chocolates was a Thornton’s Moment box produced in 2008 weighing 3,725 lbs.
- While the color red is known for its ability to make you more “attractive, more powerful, and more sexually desirable,” it can also affect a test-taker’s performance to a significant degree and cause “failure on exams.”
- The phrase “wearing your heatr on your sleeve” comes from the days when a knight would try to woo a damsel by winning a jousting match while wearing her handkerchief on his arm.
- The original Valentine’s Day was the bloody Roman feast of Lupercalia, a two-day affair from February 13 to 15 when men would sacrifice a goat and a dog, then whip women with the hides in order to make them fertile.
- The tradition of exchanging greeting cards extend as far back as the Middle Ages.
- Hallmark began mass producing Valentines in 1913.
- The average pet owner spent $4.52 for on a Valentine’s Day gift in 2012 on a present for a pet.
- Only 29% of people sent a romantic text on Valentine’s Day 2013.
- In Latin America, the holiday isn’t just for romantic love – it’s common to celebrate with “acts of appreciation” for friends.
- Fiftteen percent of U.S. women send themselves flowers on Valentine’s Day – one flower company even created a full identity for the ideal fake boyfriend: “Charles Roger Worthington III, Dartmouth Class ’09.”
- Valentine’s Day is banned in Saudi Arabia, where men have been imprisoned for celebrating the holiday.
- February 15 has been coined “Single Awareness Day” since 2005.
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