Happy Valentine’s Day!

Today, Tuesday, Feb. 14, is Valentine’s Day, a time set aside to celebrate love with syrupy social media posts, cards, flowers and candy. And while it’s definitely a holiday some would just as soon skip (Hello, Gal-entine’s Day!) others – especially card manufacturers – enjoy the day of love.

Valentine’s Day traces its origins back to Lupercalia, a Roman Festival dedicated to fertility. The celebration was traditionally held on Feb. 15 and dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture and the harvest.

Celebrations of the day faded with the growth of Christianity until it was revived by Pope Gelasius who declared Feb. 14 the feast for St. Valentine’s Day in 496 A.D.

Who was St. Valentine?

The name for our modern holiday comes from St. Valentine of Terni, a third-century Roman saint, who has become linked with the idea of courtly love. Not much is known about Valentine, other than the date of his martyrdom – Feb. 14. Valentine was reportedly killed for refusing to deny Christ by the order of Emperor Claudius in the year 280 and for continuing to marry Christian couples – specifically soldiers – despite existing prohibitions.

The most commonly repeated legend – not founded in fact – was that Valentine’s prayers healed the blind daughter of a guard where he was jailed. On the day of his execution, he reportedly left the young girl a note signed “Your Valentine.”

In addition to his links to love, Valentine is the patron saint of beekeepers, epilepsy, the plague, fainting and traveling – quite a combination for a man whose name is synonymous with love.

His flower-adorned skull is housed in Rome and is on display in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin.

Modern Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day grew in popularity in England in the 1700s. People started sending cards and flowers to their loved ones, a tradition that continues today.

The first commercially printed Valentine’s Day card was produced in 1913 by Hallmark. Today, more than a billion Valentine’s Day cards are sold each year, making it the second busiest greeting card period of the year, behind only Christmas.

Today, more than 40 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate and more than 50 million roses are sold each year on Valentine’s Day. About 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged every year in the U.S. alone.

Fun Valentine’s facts

• It used to be considered bad luck to sign a Valentine’s card. Tradition said it should be given anonymously.
• In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names to see who would be their Valentine. The name would be pinned to their sleeve, inspiring the expression “to wear your heart on your sleeve.”
• About 3% of pet owners give a Valentine’s Day gift to their pets.
• Feb. 14 is also Single Awareness Day.
• According to Hallmark, more than 50% of Valentine’s Day cards are purchased in the six days before the holiday.
• You can blame Richard Cadbury – as in Cadbury chocolates – for those heart-shaped boxes of candy. In 1868, he gave chocolates in a heart-shaped box to his sweetheart. His company soon began producing the boxes with the earliest versions featuring hand-decorated lids.
• More than 35 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate will be sold for Valentine’s Day.
• 73 percent of people who buy flowers for Valentine’s Day are men, while only 27 percent are women.
• 189 million stems of roses are sold in the U.S. on Valentine’s Day.