Valentine’s Day: Who Knew?

©Only the United States, Canada, Mexico, France, Australia and the United Kingdom celebrate Valentine’s Day.

©A loveseat is a wide chair that was first created for women and their wide dresses and petticoats. It was later made wider so that courting couples could sit together.

©Revolutionary War days saw the first valentines in the United States. They were handmade, and mostly pen and ink drawings.

©The Duke of Orleans sent the first valentine, after being jailed in 1415. He sent it on Valentine’s Day to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London.

©Humorous valentines of the 19th Century were called “Vinegar Valentines” or “Penny Dreadfuls.” Vinegar Valentines were introduced in 1858 by John McLaughin, a Scotsman with a New York City publishing business.

©The first box of candy was created in the late 1800s.

©Valentine’s Day is the big time of year for red roses; Mother’s Day means more pastel roses.

©About one billion Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged each year, second only to Christmas.

©One-third of Valentine’s Day cards are accompanied by gifts.

©Romantic cards are the best sellers for Valentine’s Day.

©An estimated 25 percent of Valentine’s Day cards are humorous.

©More than 50 percent of Valentine’s Day cards are sold the week of the holiday, with the largest and most elaborate valentines sold 48 hours before February 14.

©Teachers receive more Valentine’s Day cards than anyone else, followed by children, mothers, wives, and sweethearts.

©Valentine’s Day has a higher percentage of male buyers than any other seasonal occasion. Fifteen percent of all valentines are purchased by males, compared to most other holidays in which 90 percent of cards are purchased by women.

©Eighty percent of all valentines are purchased for relatives.

©The oldest known greeting card in existence is a valentine made in the 1400s. It can be se at The British Museum in London.

©Commercial valentines were introduced in the 1800s.

©One 1 billion valentines cards are send in the United States each year.

©Over 50 million roses are given for Valentine’s Day each year.