What do you know about Valentine’s Day? It is a lovely romantic holiday, you give Valentine Cards, send love messages, flowers and kisses…There are some more interesting facts about Valentine’s Day. So here they are:

The heart is the most common symbol of romantic love. Ancient cultures believed the human soul lived in the heart. Some believed the heart embodied a man’s truth, strength and nobility. The heart may be associated with love because the ancient Greeks believed it was the target of Eros, known as Cupid to the Romans. Anyone shot in the heart by one of Cupid’s arrows would fall hopelessly in love. Because the heart is so closely linked to love, its red colour is thought to be the most romantic.

During the Middle Ages, the belief that birds chose their mates on St. Valentine’s Day led to the idea that boys and girls would do the same. Up through the early 1900s, the Ozark hill people in the eastern United States thought that birds and rabbits started mating on February 14, a day for them which was not only Valentine’s Day but Groundhog Day as well.

Earlier February 15th used to be the date of the Roman festival of Lupercalia – where young men held a lottery to decide which girl would be theirs. The Roman ‘lottery’ system for romantic pairing was eventually declared un-Christian and outlawed. Although the lottery had been banned by the church, the mid-February holiday in commemoration of St. Valentine was still used by Roman men to seek the affection of women. It became a tradition for the men to give the ones they admired handwritten messages of affection, containing Valentine’s name.

Cupid, another symbol of Valentine’s Day, became associated with it because he was the son of Venus, the Roman god of love and beauty. Cupid often appears on Valentine cards holding a bow and arrows because he is believed to use magical arrows to inspire feelings of love.

In America, the pilgrims used to send confections, such as sugar wafers, marzipan, sweetmeats and sugar plums, to their affianced. Lot of value was placed on these gifts because they included what was then a rare product, sugar. After the late 1800′s, beet sugar became widely used and more available and sweet gifts continued to be cherished and enjoyed.

The most fantastic gift of love is the Taj Mahal, India. It was built by Mogul Emperor Shahjahan as a memorial to his wife, who died in childbirth; it stands as the emblem of the eternal love story. Work on the Taj began in 1634 and continued for almost 22 years, required the labor of 20,000 workers from all over India and Central Asia.

According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine’s Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year, after Christmas. And on Valentines Day our parents receive 1 of every 5 Valentine Cards.

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