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Saint Valentine's Day Facts and Trivia

What do you know about Valentine’s Day? It is a lovely romantic holiday, you give Valentine Cards, send love messages, flowers and kisses…There are some more interesting facts about Valentine’s Day. So here they are:

The heart is the most common symbol of romantic love. Ancient cultures believed the human soul lived in the heart. Others thought it to be the source of emotion and intelligence. Some believed the heart embodied a man's truth, strength and nobility. The heart may be associated with love because the ancient Greeks believed it was the target of Eros, known as Cupid to the Romans. Anyone shot in the heart by one of Cupid's arrows would fall hopelessly in love. Because the heart is so closely linked to love, its red colour is thought to be the most romantic.

During the Middle Ages, the belief that birds chose their mates on St. Valentine's Day led to the idea that boys and girls would do the same. Up through the early 1900s, the Ozark hill people in the eastern United States thought that birds and rabbits started mating on February 14, a day for them which was not only Valentine's Day but Groundhog Day as well.

Earlier February 15th used to be the date of the Roman festival of Lupercalia - where young men held a lottery to decide which girl would be theirs. The Roman 'lottery' system for romantic pairing was eventually declared un-Christian and outlawed. Although the lottery had been banned by the church, the mid-February holiday in commemoration of St. Valentine was still used by Roman men to seek the affection of women. It became a tradition for the men to give the ones they admired handwritten messages of affection, containing Valentine's name.

Cupid, another symbol of Valentine's Day, became associated with it because he was the son of Venus, the Roman god of love and beauty. Cupid often appears on Valentine cards holding a bow and arrows because he is believed to use magical arrows to inspire feelings of love.

Valentine's Day is a big business. Consumers will spend an average of $77.43 on Valentine's Day gifts last year. E-commerce retailers expect to rack up about $650 million in sales of food, candy, flowers, and other Valentine's Day gifts. Of that amount about $350 million will be for gifts and flowers and another $45 million will be spent on food (including chocolate) and wine.

In America, the pilgrims used to send confections, such as sugar wafers, marzipan, sweetmeats and sugar plums, to their affianced. Lot of value was placed on these gifts because they included what was then a rare product, sugar. After the late 1800's, beet sugar became widely used and more available and sweet gifts continued to be cherished and enjoyed.

The most fantastic gift of love is the Taj Mahal, India. It was built by Mogul Emperor Shahjahan as a memorial to his wife, who died in childbirth; it stands as the emblem of the eternal love story. Work on the Taj began in 1634 and continued for almost 22 years, required the labor of 20,000 workers from all over India and Central Asia.

According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year, after Christmas. And on Valentines Day our parents receive 1 of every 5 Valentine Cards.

By the end of the century, printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology. Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine's Day greetings.

The oldest known Valentine was sent in 1415 A.D. by the Duke of Orleans to his French wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. It is still on display in a museum in England.

Verona, the Italian city where Shakespeare's play lovers Romeo and Juliet lived, receives about 1,000 letters every year sent to Juliet on Valentine's Day.

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. 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.

Some people used to believe that if a woman saw a robin flying overhead on Valentine's Day, it meant she would marry a sailor. If she saw a sparrow, she would marry a poor man and be very happy. If she saw a goldfinch, she would marry a millionaire.

Such contests as the longest kiss are very popular on Valentine Day. The longest registered kiss is about 30 hours (!!!) - the rules are that the kiss must be continuous and the lips must be touching at all times.

There are a lot of other different facts about Valentine’s Day, but it’s better not to read about them, but to create new love records, traditions and histories! Love and be loved! Happy Valentine’s Day!