Friday factoids

More than 62 percent of Americans celebrate Valentine’s Day by sending greeting cards or flowers, giving candy or other gifts, sitting down to a romantic dinner or doing all three. It is guessed that about 6 million couples get engaged on Valentine’s Day.

Saint Valentine was sentenced to death for preforming marriages in secret after Emperor Claudius II banned marriage because he thought single men made better soldiers. At the end of the 5th century, Pope Gelasius declared Feb. 14 as a day for honoring Valentine. It wasn’t until the 1300s that Valentine’s Day was associated with love and romance.

An estimated 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are sent, more than 35 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate are sold and more than 220 million roses produced in the U.S. for the holiday. That’s about $20 billion dollars or an average of $130 per person every year.

facts from history.com (The History Channel)

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