2.Valentine's Day has its roots in an ancient Pagan festival.
In the 1300s, it officially became a holiday associated with love.
Cupid has its roots in Greek mythology.
The first valentine was sent in the 15th century.
Not until the 1840s did we get the first mass-produced valentines.
The tradition of giving Valentine's Day flowers dates back to the 17th century.
Today, Americans spend a lot on love.
According to the National Retail Foundation, Americans spent over $20 billion on Valentine's Day gifts in 2019 and were expected to spend a record-breaking $27.4 billion for 2020 — including $2.4 billion on candy alone! People also expected to spend an average of approximately $196 for Valentine's Day, with men spending around $291 compared to women spending $106.
According to Hallmark, a whopping 145 million Valentine's Day cards are exchanged every February 14 (and that's not even including all those kids' valentines exchanged in classrooms!). This makes Valentine's Day the second biggest holiday for exchanging greeting cards, after Christmas. And how sweet: Teachers receive the most Valentine's Day cards annually, followed by children, mothers and wives. Needless to say, we've come a long way from 1913, which was when Hallmark Cards produced their first Valentine's card.
Hey, furry friends need love, too! In fact, around 27.6 million American households gave Valentine's Day presents to their pet dogs in 2020, and more than 17.1 million picked up gifts for their cats. All in all, American households spent an estimated $751.3 million on gifts for their pets on Valentine’s Day.
Candy and flowers might be some of the most common gifts for Valentine's Day, but according to the National Retail Federation, the category that we typically spend the most on for February 14 is jewelry, at a whopping $5.8 billion in 2020! The second most-paid-for gift on Valentine's Day 2020 was an evening out with $4.3 billion, followed by clothing, candy and then flowers.
The first heart-shaped box of chocolates was introduced in 1861.
Nearly 6 million couples get engaged on Valentine's Day.
It's celebrated differently around the world.
This one is my favorite
“XOXO” is a popular signature this time of year. The origins of the signature, however, stem from the Middle Ages. The Washington Post reported that during those times the “X” symbolized the Christian cross, and letters ended with the sign of the cross and a kiss to symbolize an oath. As the gesture became more popular in literature, letters and paperwork, it came to mean something had been “sealed with a kiss.”

This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/obioma-martin/support