AD | Every February 14, millions of people across the globe express their love and affection to their loved ones by sending flowers, chocolates, cards, and gifts in the annual celebration of love called Valentine’s Day. When and how did this popular holiday begin? Let’s look at some interesting facts about Valentine’s Day.
There are two popular theories about the origin of Valentine’s Day. One theory says that the modern holiday is rooted in an ancient pre-Roman health and fertility festival called Lupercalia, where one of the rituals involve men striking the women who wish to conceive.
Another theory says that Emperor Claudius II forbid young men to marry, believing that single men make better warriors. A bishop named Valentine defied the ban. In the spirit of love, he performed secret marriages. For disobeying the emperor, Valentine was martyred on February 14.
Valentine’s Day is the second most popular day to send greeting cards after Christmas. According to Hallmark,, a staggering 144 million greeting cards are exchanged every year in the USA alone.
We’re talking 144 million greeting cards being exchanged industry-wide every year for Valentine’s Day in the U.S. alone, according to Hallmark.
Red and pink are the traditional colors of Valentine’s Day. Red is associated with feelings of love, passion, and desire while pink symbolizes caring, compassion, and love.
Cupid is another traditional symbol of Valentines. Cupid is the son of Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. He is often depicted with as a mischievous winged baby with a bow and arrow to pierce hearts and make people fall in love.
Roses are the most popular flowers among lovers during Valentine’s Day. Throughout history, the rose, especially red and pink ones, has been recognized as a symbol of love and desire.
The popular practice of giving heart-shaped boxes filled with chocolate candy began in the late 1800s when Richard Cadbury invented the famous confectionery.
The tradition of giving Valentine’s cards date back 600 years. It is said that the oldest Valentine’s card was a poem written in 1415 by Charles, the Duke of Orleans, for his wife who was imprisoned in the Tower of London.
Check out other fun facts as well as coloring and activity pages in Printable Learning’s free Valentine’s Day arts and crafts printable for kids.
It’s nice to think of it more as a tradition than a commercial holiday.
Yeah absolutely 😌
This is really interesting, I didn’t actually know about the origins of this holiday – other than a marketing ploy to buy cards and chocolate that is haha. xx
Interesting facts, I never knew about these!
These are all really interesting facts – I don’t usually bother with Valentine’s Day as I think it’s become so commercialised and expensive now but it’s nice to learn about where it all originated from. I do love roses but I much prefer pink ones to red. All I can say is god bless Richard Cadbury, if there’s one thing I do love about Valentine’s Day it’s the chocolate haha x
Alice // http://www.accordingtoalicex.com