Valentine’s Day, occurring every year on February 14 where chocolates, flowers, gifts and Instagram posts are exchanged between loved ones in the name of the mysterious Saint Valentine. I love a good Hallmark holiday or any reason to go shopping and apparently I’m not the only one! Here’s some Valentine’s Day facts to make the holiday more fun.
1) Over 8 billion candy hearts are produced for Valentine’s Day every year! Don’t worry if you still have last year’s box — they have a shelf life of five years.
2) Nearly 250 million roses are grown in preparation for Valentine’s Day each year.
3) According to the National Retail Foundation, Americans spent nearly $26 billion on Valentine’s Day gifts in 2023. People were also expected to spend an average of approximately $193 for Valentine’s Day.
4) 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.
5) Pets need love too! American households spent an estimated $751.3 million on gifts for their pets on Valentine’s Day last year.
6) Today, more than 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolates are sold each year. That’s 58 million pounds of chocolate!
7) The oldest record of a valentine being sent, according to History.com, was a poem written by a French medieval duke named Charles to his wife in 1415.
8) Valentine’s Day has typically been associated with romantic love and partnership. Interestingly enough, according to a Today show survey that polled 1,500 people, only 59% of spouses planned on giving their partners a gift, while 85% of parents planned to give their children something on February 14.
9) Love birds are actual birds. While the term “lovebirds” has become a popular figure of speech, it’s also the common name for Agap*rnis birds. This bird is a type of parrot that is native to the continent of Africa and can be found throughout the eastern and southern regions. The animals typically travel in pairs, which is why many couples are referred to as lovebirds.
10) Four states have a city named “Valentine”. Arizona, Nebraska, Texas and Virginia each have cities with the name, although Virginia adds an “s” on the end.
