14 Facts About Valentine's Day

14 Facts About Valentine's Day

Many people think of Valentine's Day as another day to exchange chocolates, stuffed animals, flowers, cards, and so much more. But, many people don't know the history on why we do this. Valentine's Day is a day of love celebrated each year on February 14, below are 14 facts you may not have known about this day.

1. St. Valentine
According to history.com, there are more than one saints named Valentine or Valentinus, making us uncertain which one the holiday originates from. 

2. A lot of Money
According to the National Retail Federation, in 2019, American's spent over $20 billion on Valentine's Day. In 2020, they were expected to spend $27.4 billion! That's a whole lot of money on love.

3. First Valentine Written From Prison
The first Valentine was written in the 15th century by Charles, Duke of Orleans. He wrote a poem to his wife in 1415. Charles wrote this while imprisoned in the Tower of London at 21 years old. 

4. Sweethearts Candy
The iconic chalky heart shaped candy was first created by a pharmacist named Oliver Chase. He invented a machine for medical lozenges, which later resulted in the first candy making machine.

5. Candy Hearts
Speaking of those chalky heart shaped candies, there are more than 8 billion Sweetheart Candies manufactured each year! Necco starts making them days after February 14, to have enough each year. They make about 100,000 pounds a day.

6. A lot of Cards
According to Hallmark, around 145 million Valentine's Day cards are exchanged every Valentine's Day! According to these numbers, this makes Valentine's Day the second biggest holiday for exchanging cards, with Christmas at number one. 

7. The Chocolate Box
The chocolate box has been around for many years. According to History.com, Richard Cadbury introduced the first box of chocolates more than 140 years ago in 1868. 

8. For Pets Too!
According to the National Retail Federation, about 27% of people celebrating Valentine's Day last year, also planned on celebrating with their pets. They also revealed people are spending more on their pets, and the amount is more than $1.7 billion!

9. Roses
When you think of Valentine's Day flowers, you likely think of roses. According to The Spruce, roses account for more than half of all Valentine's Day flower sales. 

10. Flowers
Speaking of flowers, Valentine's Day is the biggest holiday of the year for florists, beating out Christmas, Mother's Day, and Thanksgiving! 

11. Teachers 
Teachers are the number one recipient of Valentines on Valentine's Day each year! Classrooms in elementary schools often do Valentine's exchanges, which means that teachers are usually included as well. 

12. A Small Little Town 
There is a small town in Texas with a pretty festive name! Valentine, Texas is a quaint little town, with a population of only around 125 people. 

13. Chocolates From the West Coast 
California has the largest number of chocolate makers! This means that if you give, or receive a heart shaped box of chocolates this year, there's a good chance it's coming from the west coast! 

14. The Gift of Jewelry
According to the National Retail Federation, people spend the most money on jewelry each Valentine's Day. They found that in 2020, people spent $5.8 billion on jewelry alone! 

We hope you have a happy Valentine's Day this year! Don't forget to claim your 14% off, by entering code VDAY14 at checkout on our website

Sources:
31 Bits of Valentine's Day Trivia You Probably Didn't Know
Valentine's Day Facts
17 Fascinating Valentine's Day Facts That Will Probably Surprise You