Valentine's Day Trivia and Fun Facts
Valentine’s Day, is a day to celebrate love! It is a fun day to let our loved ones know how much we care. When we think of Valentine’s Day we think of hearts, cupid, chocolates, flowers and cards, We have researched information on each of these and have complied trivia, information and fun facts for your enjoyment. Happy Valentine's Day!
The History of Valentine's Day
The Beginning: Valentine’s Day began as a Roman pagan festival of Lupercalia, a fertility celebration which began on February 15th of each year and lasted for several days.
During the festival of Lupercalia young women names were put into a box and the young men would pull one of the names which would decide which girl would be theirs.
The pagan ritual of Lupercalia was abolished in 496 by Pope Gelasius. He declared February 14 to be a saint day – St. Valentine’s Day, although it is unclear as to what saint he intended to honor on St. Valentine’s Day. Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred on February 14.
In 1537, King Henry VIII, King of England, declared February 14th a holiday.
In the middle of the 17th century everyone, including married people took a Valentine. Their Valentine was not always the person they were wed to.
During the 17th century people where making and sending Valentine cards, letters and poems to their sweetheart.
Today Valentine’s Day is celebrated in many countries of the world.
Valentine Cards and Gifts
The oldest paper valentine still around is at London’s British Museum. Charles, Duke of Orleans sent it to his wife in 1415. (He wrote many poems to his wife while being held prisoner in Britain).
Valentine’s Day was thought to be the time when birds chose a mate.
Valentine’s Day in the second largest holiday of the year for sending cards with over 1 billion Valentine's Day cards exchanged each year.
Teachers will receive the most Valentine's Day cards
More than 35 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate will be sold for Valentine's Day.
According the Society of America Florists, approximately 187 million Roses were sold at Valentine’s Day, 2010.
A daughter of Henry IV of France gave a party in honor of St Valentine where each lady received a beautiful bouquet of flowers from the man chosen as her valentine. Thus started the tradition of sending flowers on Valentine’s Day.
Valentine’s Day Meanings
Valentine comes from the Latin word "Valentinus", derived from the word "valens", meaning to be strong, powerful, mighty.
Cupid means "desire" – In Roman Mythology Cupid was the son of Venus, the goddess of love.
Valentine Fun Facts and traditions
To be awakened by a kiss on Valentine’s Day is considered very good luck
Some people believed 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 but be very happy. If she saw a goldfinch, she would marry a very rich person.
Tomato is known as the love apple.
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.
The Italian city of Verona, where Shakespeare's lovers Romeo and Juliet lived, receives over 1,000 letters addressed to Juliet every Valentine's Day
Red Hearts are an ancient symbol of love. Because the human heart beats faster when one is excited, the heart was thought to be the center of emotion and feeling in ancient times.
Red Roses are the most popular Valentine flowers. The world’s oldest living rose is thought to be 1,000 years old and can be found on the wall of the Hildesheim Cathedral of Germany, its presence is documented since A.D. 815.
The red rose was thought to be the favorite flower of the Roman goddess of love, Venus
According to Greek mythology, it was Aphrodite who gave the rose its name.
Aztecs believed that wisdom and power came from eating chocolate and that is had nourishing, fortifying, and aphrodisiac qualities. The Aztec emperor, Montezuma was said to drink great amounts of drank thick chocolate dyed red.
To the Mayan people chocolate symbolized life and fertility
