With less than one month remaining until the most romantic day celebrated throughout the globe, we decided to tease you with over a dozen rare and interesting facts about Valentine’s Day:
13. Valentine’s Day in Verona
In the city of Verona, Italy the fictional hometown of Romeo and Juliet they receive around 1,000 letters from hopeful (and clearly delusional) fans addressed to Juliet, kooky.
12. Valentine’s Day in the USA
In America around 3 percent of pet owners will send Valentine’s gifts to their furry friends, we’re not sure what the purpose of this is and we’re not sure we want to know the details.
11. Valentine’s Gift Purchases
Women purchase 85% of all Valentine’s gifts for their men, with men making up only 15% of Valentine’s gift purchases. We’re sure they make it up in other ways.
10. Wearing Your Heart on Your Sleeve
Back in the Ye Olde Middle ages, your valentine would be picked not by silly, unpredictable ‘feelings’ but by a much more reliable system whereby you would pick a name out of a hat.
This sensible and pragmatic selection process was followed by wearing your chosen Valentine’s name on your sleeve, which is where the popular phrase ‘wearing your heart on your sleeve’ probably comes from.
9. The Penicillin Connection
Penicillin, which is widely used as a treatment for diseases such as syphilis, was made publicly available on February 14, 1929 – which is somewhat convenient.
8. Valentine’s Day in Japan
Here’s one for the lads! Fed up with buying gifts for your partner? Move to Japan. There only women are expected to gifts on Valentine’s Day. Apparently, this was due to a translation error when the occasion was imported to the orient. We’re willing to bet said translator was a man.
Unfortunately, the Women soon realized the unfairness of this situation and now Men are expected to reciprocate the gifting a month later on March 14th so you’re not completely off the hook.
7. Love is in the Air
When it comes to love, women have it (relatively) easy with 120 men vying for the attention of only 100 women each valentine.
6. Origin of Valentine’s Day
Whilst there is much debate as to the origins of Valentine’s Day it can be loosely traced to the ancient Roman celebration of Lupercalia. This celebration was actually held between the 13- 15th of February, rather than solely on the 14th but let’s not let that minor detail get in the way of a good origin story.
The Lupercalia event honored various gods, with the exact details being sketchy at best but it involved a fertility ritual and naked Romans, and that in combination with the date of the event is enough to convince some that the two events are linked.
5. Valentine’s Day in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia has really embraced the tradition of Valentine’s Day and to express this love for romance they’ve decided to outright ban the occasion, forcing suppliers of roses and other similar items of romantic symbolism into a black market trade system where flowers are delivered in the dead of the night, probably by Ninjas.
4. Love and Poetry Go Hand in Hand
Poems and Valentine’s Day go hand in hand and long before tablets were used primarily for playing Angry Birds and reading emails they were the go-to format for poetic expressions of love, although back then they were made from Clay. The oldest such example dates back to 3500 B.C. making it by all estimations ‘extremely old’.
3. The First Valentines Chocolate Box
Fast forward a few thousand years to 1868 and you’ll find another first, the first-ever valentines chocolate box made by none other than a member of the famous Cadbury clan of chocolatiers, Richard Cadbury.
2. Valentine’s Day in Korea
It is a tradition in Korea to go out and eat black noodles if you don’t receive any Valentine’s gifts or cards, presumably this is a signal to all would-be valentines that you are single and available, a nifty system less brilliant if you’re not a fan of black noodles.
1. The First Valentine’s Day Card
The very first Valentine’s Day card was sent by the Duke of Orleans whilst serving as a prisoner in the Tower of London, thankfully sending Valentine’s cards from a prison cell didn’t become an integral part of the tradition we enjoy today.
Do you know some interesting facts about Valentine’s Day? Share with us a few in the comments section below!
