Welcome to the month of Love! Every February 14th, we celebrate Valentines Day, but here are some fun facts about the international holiday that may surprise you…
Valentines Day is named for St. Valentine, a Catholic saint who was executed by Roman Emperor Claudius II sometime during the third century A.D. Before his execution, he composed a final letter to his love and signed it “from your Valentine”. He was buried on February 14th.
In 1537, England's King Henry VII officially declared Feb. 14 the holiday of St. Valentine's Day.
It wasn’t until the 1700s that the British added the romantic tones to the date and it has hence evolved into the love fest that it is today.
Cupid, the pink cheeked cherub that is associated with Valentines Day is the son of Venus, the Roman God of love and beauty.
The red rose is the favored flower of Venus, the Roman God of love and beauty, which is why over a billion red roses are sold every Valentines Day.
Lace is often used on Valentine decorations. The word “lace” comes from the Latin laques, meaning “to snare or net,” as in to catch a person’s heart.
Those delicious candy hearts were originally medical lozenges.
Galentine's Day has become a beloved spinoff holiday. Galentine's Day may have originally been a holiday made up by geniuses behind the hit TV show Parks and Recreation back in 2010, but that doesn't mean it's not 100 percent real. According to the National Retail Federation, since 2010, spending on Valentine’s Day gifts for friends has nearly tripled, going from $737 million to a whopping $2.1 billion.