Sunday February 14, 2016 Valentines Day! Here are some Fun Facts

But before we get to that

Week 2 of Black History Month Each week there is a video and a set of questions. If you answer the questions you will be entered into a drawing for a prize. Week 1 winner is Nancy Martinez. She can pick up her prize from room E218 Video of the Week Questions of the week

And now back to Valentines Day Facts

History of Cards in U.S.

The primary figure that we should recognize for Valentine’s cards is Esther Howland who received her first Valentine card in 1847. Her family owned and operated one of the largest book and stationery stores in Worcester, MA.

She decided she could make similar cards to market in the United States. Esther ordered her supplies from England and started selling her cards the next year. In 1850 she advertised these cards and hired staff to help her keep up with the orders. She retired in 1881 and sold her business to George C. Whitney Company.

Candy Facts

Richard Cadbury produced the first box of chocolates for Valentine's Day in the late 1800s. More than 35 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate will be sold for Valentine's Day. Over $1 billion worth of chocolate is purchased for Valentine's Day in the U.S.

Conversation Hearts: In 1866, candy manufacturer NECCO made the first “Conversation Hearts” — then called “Motto Hearts.” According to NECCO, eight billion of these little candies are sold between January 1 and February 14.

Flowers

73 percent of people who buy flowers for Valentine's Day are men, while only 27 percent are women. 15 percent of U.S. women send themselves flowers on Valentine's Day.

Flower colors have different meanings Flower colors have different meanings. Red roses mean love, yellow roses indicate friendship, and pink roses mean friendship or sweetheart. Red carnations mean admiration, white carnations mean pure love, red chrysanthemums mean love, and primrose means young love.

Valentine’s Day is the big time of year for red roses; Mothers’ Day means more pastel roses. 189 million stems of roses are sold in the U.S. on Valentine's Day.

California produces 60 percent of American roses, but the greater number sold on Valentine's Day in the U.S. are imported, mostly from South America. Approximately 110 million roses, mostly red, will be sold and delivered within the three-day Valentine's Day time period.

CARDS

About 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged each year About 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged each year. That’s the largest seasonal card-sending occasion of the year, next to Christmas. One-third of all Valentine cards are accompanied by gifts. Hallmark produced its first Valentine card in 1913.

An estimated 25% of Valentine’s Day cards are humorous. More than 50 % of cards are sold the week of the holiday, with the largest and most elaborate Valentine cards sold 48 hours before February 14…making Valentine's Day a procrastinator's delight.

70% of those celebrating the holiday give a card, followed by a telephone call (49%), gift (48%), special dinner (37 percent), candy (33 %) restaurant meal (30 %), and flowers (19 %). Teachers will receive the most Valentine's Day cards, followed by children, mothers, wives, sweethearts and pets.

FUN Facts

Valentine’s Day is big business. Consumers will spend an average of $77.43 on Valentine’s Day gifts this year. E-commerce retailers expect to rack up about $650 million in sales of food, candy, flowers, and other Valentine’s Day gifts. Of that amount about $350 million will be for gifts and flowers and another $45 million will be spent on food (including chocolate) and drink.

In the 1800s doctors commonly advised their heartbroken patients to eat chocolate, claiming it would sooth their pain. To this day, many women find comfort in a box of chocolates when dealing with heartbreak. A love knot is a symbol of undying love, as its twisting loops have no beginning and no end. In the past, they were made of ribbon or drawn on paper to prove one's eternal love.

Every Valentine's Day, the Italian city of Verona, where Shakespeare's lovers Romeo and Juliet lived, receives about 1,000 letters addressed to Juliet. About 3 percent of pet owners will give Valentine's Day gifts to their pets.

220,000 is the average number of wedding proposals on Valentine's Day each year. In the U.S., 64 percent of men do not make plans in advance for a romantic Valentine's Day with their sweethearts.

What do you have planned for your sweetie this Sunday? You still have 6 days to get ready!

Happy Valentine’s Day