Valentines Cards -

• 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.

• 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!

• More than half of shoppers spend more than $3 for a Valentine’s Day card.      

• One-fourth of Valentine’s Day cards are humorous.

• Gifts accompany one-third of all Valentine cards.

• Approximately one billion Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged annually.

Valentines Gifts -

• 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.

Valentines Fun Facts -

• 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.

• During Medieval times, girls ate unusual foods on St. Valentine's Day to have a dream of their future husband.

• In the middle Ages, people believed that the first unmarried person of the opposite sex you met on the morning of St. Valentine's Day would become your spouse.

• In the middle of the 17th century even married people took a Valentine - not always their legal other half!

• In Wales, love spoons of wood were carved and given as gifts on February 14th. Hearts, keys and keyholes formed the favorite theme of decorations on the spoons, which together symbolized- "You unlock my heart!"

• It wasn't until 1537 that St. Valentine's Day was declared an official holiday. England's King Henry VIII declared February 14th a holiday in 1537 for the first time.

• Some people believed that if a woman saw a robin-flying overhead on Valentine's Day, it meant she would marry a sailor and if she saw a sparrow, she would marry a poor man and be very happy. If she saw a goldfinch, she would marry a very rich person.

• The Taj Mahal at Agra, India is perhaps the most splendid gift of love. It was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his beautiful wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Work on the Taj began in 1634 and continued for almost 22 years. It took the labor of 20,000 workers from all over India and Central Asia.

• Two U.S. cities named after St. Valentine - 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