From its unknown origins to the history of it's candy...stay tuned to number 1 to find
out 10 facts about the history of Valentine's Day!
Number 10: The Origin Of Valentine's Day.
Usually, when it comes to holidays, you can understand or extrapolate where the tradition
came from.
St. Patrick's Day was from Ireland, 4th of July was celebrating the independence of America,
and so on.
But with Valentine's Day, it may be a bit harder.
For there are actually two different theories as to how the day came to be.
First and foremost, many think that it was because of Saint named Valentine.
This is why some refer to the holiday as St. Valentine's Day.
But ironically, the Catholic Church has documented three different men named Valentine who were
Saints, and all of whom were executed for their faith, making things even more complicated
in terms of an "origin story".
One take on one of the St. Valentine's was that when a Roman emperor forbade the army
soldiers to marry, as he felt it would allow them to fight without fear of loss, that St.
Valentine came in and performed secret marriages.
He was then caught and imprisoned.
This last fact is considered a definite possible origin of the holiday.
For it's said that after defying the emperor, St Valentine got an admirer via a woman who
visited him in the prison.
It was here that he sent a note to her, the first Valentine card, if you will.
Then, before his passing, he sent one last message to her signed, From Your Valentine,
or so the story goes.
And thus, that's how the signature phrase came to be.
Others still think that it's an extension of a rather...explicit Roman tradition that
somehow survived the Christian uprising in various ways.
No matter how you slice it, though, the true origins of Valentine's Day are a mystery to
all.
Number 9: The Date.
Just as the origin of the holiday is a bit of a mystery, just as clouded is why it was
settled on February 14th.
One of the reasons is said to be because of the Roman holiday called Lupercalia, which
was a very racous holiday that I really don't want to go into.
But, it was said have started on February 15th.
So moving it a day before to thus ensure it wasn't fully associated with that date seems
fair.
But, another take on it has a more natural flavor.
For many noticed that the doves of the world seem to go into their mating season in the
middle of February, and doves are now associated with Valentine's Day as they are the birds
of love.
So February 14th might have been chosen for that reason.
It's also been noted that February has often been associated with romance and love for
one reason or another, so the people who officially made the holiday (Christians believe it or
not) wanted to choose a date within the month that felt right, and the 14th seemed to match
up.
Number 8: The Love Of Chocolate.
Before we talk about my sweet tooth, take a moment to like this video and join the Zero2Hero
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There are many things that are associated with Valentine's Day, and chocolate is one
of the biggest ones.
But have you ever wondered why?
It may seem like an obvious choice now, but it had to be connected to the holiday in some
fashion, right?
Well, apparently, many doctors thought that chocolate wasn't just tasty, that it was actually
medicine.
How so?
Well, they deduced that eating chocolate would help you get over the loss of a loved one.
Or, that it would help heal your broken heart.
Naturally, there's no actual basis for this, however, you can't deny that when you eat
chocolate, it tastes good, and you feel good, so the connection might have simply come from
that.
Now, if you're wondering where the first box of chocolates came from, that would be Richard
Cadbury all the way back in the 1800's.
And it's not hard to see why that particular invention came to be very popular on the holiday.
Love is very sweet, but chocolate can be even sweeter, am I right?
Number 7: Men Vs. Women.
No, this isn't about how love is a battlefield or anything like that.
Rather, it's about the spending patterns of men and women on Valentine's Day.
Take a minute and think, who do you believe spends more on gifts for their Valentine?
Regardless of whether it's on their friend, crush, boyfriend/girlfriend, lover, or spouse.
Who do you think spends more money on cards and gifts?
Men or women?
The obvious answer is women.
Women are more expressive in their feelings, and are said to be more personal in their
gift-giving, as they want to find the perfect gift for their significant other.
Men, are often touted as emotionally-stunted.
They'll have emotions, but not know how to express them.
And thus, they don't spend the time and money they should on Valentine's Day gifts.
Right?
Wrong.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Anyway, men have been reported to spend DOUBLE what women do on gifts for their significant
others.
While this may be surprising, you need to remember one thing.
While men are idiots most of the time (hey, I'm a guy, i can say that!), they also know
that there are times when you DON'T screw things up.
Your anniversary, your significant other's birthday, and of course, Valentine's Day.
So they likely spend double so that they don't end up in the doghouse.
Number 6: The Rise of Cupid Many holidays have a picture figure, if you
will.
The Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, even a Leprechaun for St. Patrick's Day.
For Valentine's Day though, we have Cupid, a little angel that apparently causes people
to fall in love with one another.
But did you ever wonder where said angel came from?
That would be Greek and Roman Mythology.
In those pantheons, Cupid (also called Amor, which is translated to "love" in certain languages)
was the son of the Goddess Aphrodite (also known as Venus).
Aphrodite was the Goddess of beauty and love, and her son got part of that in him.
But he also was the god of attraction.
To that end, he would use his golden bow to strike the hearts of people, and even gods,
to make them fall in love.
While just a figure of a man in his early renderings, Cupid was later reimagined as
a young little angel who made people fall in love.
Even going so far as to say he was a baby.
This new version of Cupid was put on Valentine's Day cards dating back to the 1800's, and the
idea stuck.
So, he became the official mascot of Valentine's Day.
Number 5: Proposing A Relationship.
Timing is everything, especially when it comes to relationships.
And when it comes time to celebrate Valentine's Day, many men, and women, believe that the
romantic holiday is the perfect time to either pop the question of marriage, or even just
ask someone out for a date.
It's an interesting thing, for you have to wonder what they're doing on that date to
try and ensure that they get the answer they want.
After all, with emotions and feelings running high on the holiday, it might seem like it's
harder to get a no.
You might be wondering, "How many people actually propose, or think of proposing, during Valentine's
Day?"
Well, in 2013, it was estimated that 6 million people were thinking about doing just that.
That's a lot of people.
But, as in all things, don't rush into a relationship if you're not ready for it yet.
Remember, there are 365 days in a year...pick the date you feel is best for you.
Number 4: Carding The Holidays.
There are three items most associated with Valentine's Day: Chocolates, flowers, and
Valentine's Day Cards.
Depending on who you talk to, sources will say that Valentine's Day Cards are exchanged
in the hundreds of millions to even the billions every single year.
That's a lot of cards to be giving out all over the world.
Because of this high number, you might think that the holiday is the biggest card-giving
holiday in the world.
But it's actually not.
In fact, you already know which one is: Christmas.
When you break down the holidays themselves, you'll understand why Christmas comes out
on top.
On Valentine's Day, you give one card to someone you love.
MAYBE a few if you include a parent or other family member.
But most times, it's just to your significant other.
For Christmas though, you give cards to family, friends, other families, churches, and more.
It all adds up to Christmas dominating the card market.
But Valentine's Day is a strong second.
Number 3 Not Just For Lovers.
As I noted before, sometimes you get Valentine's Day cards for your family, or your dear friends,
or someone else important in your life.
A study was done on Valentine's Day gifts, and it was found that a bunch of gifts for
the holiday aren't given to significant others, but rather, for parents, kids, teachers, and
even pets!
In fact, 3% of all Valentine's Day gifts are for pets.
You almost have to wonder what exactly they give them...
Regardless though, this proves that even if you don't have a boyfriend, girlfriend, or
spouse, you can still celebrate the holiday with someone you love.
Number 2: Color-Coding.
Flowers are a universal symbol for Valentine's Day, specifically, a rose is meant to convey
strong feelings for another that you care about.
Millions upon millions of roses are sold every year in February for the holiday, but here's
the question you need to ask yourself: what message are you trying to convey?
After all, there are many different colored roses in the world, and if you don't send
the right one, you're going to get egg on your face for not sending the right message.
A red rose is said to symbolize a passionate love, which is why it's the most popular.
A white rose is meant to show the sincerity of your feelings for someone.
If you give someone a yellow rose, you're saying that you care about them in the sense
of a strong friendship.
Orange is meant to express desire for a relationship, and pink is meant to be a kind and sweet love.
It may be a lot to remember, but it's better to know it than forget and end up in hot water
for sending the wrong colored rose.
Number 1: Medical Hearts.
One of the most beloved candies on Valentine's Day are the candy hearts.
Their simple shapes, and lovely little messages have won many over.
But the history of them is more complicated than you might think.
For this all began with a man named Oliver Chase, who figured out how to make candy shapes
via a medical lozenge machine.
That's right, originally, they were made to be medicine, and they weren't even heart-shaped.
Eventually, Oliver realized that he had a perfect way to make candies, and decided to
make..wafers.
Fast forward 15 years, and his brother, Daniel Chase, came up with the idea to imprint little
messages on the candies.
And then, in 1902, the candies finally got their heart shapes.
What is your craziest Valentine's day experience?
Let us know in the comments below and...take care!
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