The world is awash with the colour red. It must be Valentine’s. Teddies, balloons, cakes, you name it, I’ll probably have to buy it.
But what do we really know about this festival of love and romance? Here at Paradise Heights, we decided to do a bit of detective work into this happy-go-lovely holiday, here’s 10 things you probably didn’t know about Valentine’s Day…
1 One billion valentines are sent each year worldwide, making it the second largest card-sending holiday of the year behind Christmas. Women purchase approximately 85 percent of all valentines!
2 Teachers receive the most Valentine’s Day cards, closely followed by children, mothers, wives and partners.
3 In Victorian times it was considered bad luck to sign a Valentine’s Day card.
4 About 3 percent of pet owners will give Valentine’s Day gifts to their pets.
5 More home pregnancy testing kits are sold in March than in any other month!
6 Penicillin, a popular treatment for STDs such as syphilis, was introduced to the world on February 14, 1929.
7 In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their Valentines would be. They would wear these names on their sleeves for one week, hence the phrase to wear your heart on your sleeve.
8 Every Valentine’s Day, Verona, Italy, where Shakespeare’s fictional lovers, Romeo and Juliet, lived, receives over 1,000 letters addressed to Juliet.
9 Or you could pop over to Finland where Valentine’s Day is called Ystävänpäivä, which translates into “Friend’s day”. This day is more about remembering all your friends, not only your loved ones.
10 If you’re single don’t despair. You can celebrate Singles Awareness Day (SAD) instead. Meant as an alternative to Valentine’s Day, the holiday is for single people to celebrate or to commiserate in their single status. A common greeting on this day is “Happy SAD!”
And finally…*BONUS FACT*
11 If there is moonlight AND music…you literally have to face the music AND dance.
Happy Valentine’s Day everyone. xx
