Five Fun Facts About Valentine’s Day

In Fair Verona

In the Italian City of Verona, the setting of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, February 14th brings with it a remarkable annual tradition. Each year, over a thousand Valentine’s Day cards and letters arrive from all over the world – addressed to Juliet herself! 

 

Love Birds

Here’s a little-known but fascinating fact: many literary scholars and historians believe the first recorded association between Valentine’s Day and romantic love is a couplet written by Geoffrey Chaucer in 1832. Translated into modern English: “For this was Saint Valentine’s Day / when every bird cometh there to choose his mate.” Leave it to a poet to put the heart in Valentine’s Day!

 

Romantic Dreams

Today Valentine’s Day is associated with sweet delights like candies and chocolates. But here’s a fun fact about medieval times to make you rethink your idea of a Valentine’s Day palate: back then, girls ate bizarre foods on St. Valentine’s Day to make them dream of their future spouses. 

 

Wear Your Heart On Your Sleeve

Here’s another fun vignette about the conception of Valentine’s Day in the Middle Ages. As a St. Valentine’s tradition, young men and women would draw names from a bowl to see who would be their valentine. They would then wear the name pinned to their sleeves for a week’s time – a custom that gave rise to the expression ‘wear your heart on your sleeve.’

 

A Valentine For Everyone

Ever wonder who gets the most Valentine’s Day cards? Here’s a fun fact revealed by a national poll: teachers receive the largest number of Valentine’s Day cards every year, followed by children, mothers, wives, sweethearts, and pets. Yes, that’s right: pets make the list, with statistics showing that about 3% of pet owners give their furry friend a Valentine’s Day card, gift, or treat each year.