Here are some Valentines Day Facts you can use to impress your soul mate. Or to drop not-so-subtle hints that the day of romance is approaching!
Note: These Valentines Day facts are presented in historical order, except where it makes better sense to do otherwise.
While everyone agrees that Valentines Day is named for St. Valentine, no one is sure which martyred saint named Valentine received the honor.
Lupercalia, a fertility festival, was celebrated locally in Ancient Rome in mid-February.
Juno Februa, celebrated about the same time, was more widespread throughout the Roman Empire, focusing on Juno, one of the goddesses related to women.
Of the three saints Valentine, none have verifiable connections to romance, though there's plenty of conjecture, tradition, and lore.
Valentine of Terni, #1, died at the decree of Roman Emperor Aurelian about AD 197.
Valentine of Rome, #2, was executed by the Roman Emperor Claudius II for refusing to convert to paganism, about AD 269.
Valentine #3 was martyred in Africa, but little else is written about his circumstances.
In 500 AD, the date was proclaimed a Saint's Day by Pope Gelasius I.
In 1969, Pope Paul VI reversed the decision, taking the official Catholic Church calendar status away. However, its observance as a religious holiday persists in various places around the world.
In 1382, Geoffrey Chaucer wrote Parlement of Foules, the first known connection between Valentines Day and the romance we celebrate to this day.
Chaucer's poem honored the marriage of England's King Richard II to Anne of Bohemia.
Another early connection between love and Valentines Day occurred in Paris (ah, those romantic French!) in 1400, when a "High Court of Love" was established.
The earliest known valentine was sent from the Duke of Orleans to his wife in 1415. At the time, the Duke was locked up in the Tower of London.
It's believed that a few years later King Henry V of England, not a poet himself, hired a writer to express his romantic feelings in a valentine to Catherine of Valois.
Shakespeare mentioned Valentines Day in Hamlet, written about 1600-1601.
The Young Man's Valentine Writer, published in England in 1797, provided romantic poetry for those - like King Henry - not as talented as Chaucer or Shakespeare.
Around the same time, sending cards by mail (many anonymously) gained popularity.
Fancy valentines were first produced in England, with lace and ribbons.
In 1847, Esther Howland of Worcester, Massachusetts, created mass-produced paper and lace valentine cards in the United States, which quickly gained popularity.
It wasn't until the mid-20th century that gifts became common in addition to the cards.
The diamond industry hopped aboard the holiday in the 1980s, adding the expensive sparklies to the growing list (chocolate, roses, etc.) of popular valentines gifts.
About 190 million valentine cards are sent every year in the United States alone.
Valentines Day is second only to Christmas in the number of cards sent -- and not too far behind.
Teachers are the top recipients of cards; children take second place.
Women receive more cards than men.
More than half the people living in the United States buy valentines cards; about half of those are bought after February 7.
E-cards have rapidly gained popularity in the past few years, with the estimate of 15 million sent in 2010.
If you know of other Valentines Day Facts, please send them through the Contact Batya form.
SOURCES for Valentines Day Facts: The Free Dictionary, History.com, Hallmark Research, US Census Bureau, US Greeting Card Association, Wikipedia
If you're looking for a unique and memorable Valentines gift for your soul mate, the best present is a Past Life Regression Session with Batya in South Florida or Nashville, TN. (Past Lives Readings not location-specific.) Click this link for more information about a session, or click here to go directly to scheduling a session for your soul mate as one of the most unique ideas for Valentines Day that you can find.
