How And When Valentine's Day Started Will Likely Never Be Known

Today is Valentine’s Day, a holiday that is celebrated by many while others just accept it or even hate it. The origin is hard to determine with some historians insisting it goes back hundreds of years with one account claiming a Roman Emperor believed single men made better soldiers so he would not allow then to marry. Secretly though Saint Valentine of Terni would perform marriages…he was eventually caught and executed on February 14^th. There are many other accounts that are quite different.

Regardless of its origin Valentine’s Day is a big deal and Americans are expected to spend about $30 billion…by the way men outspend women about 2-to-1. The most money is spent on jewelry (more than 6 million couples will get engaged today) and you might be surprised that second is an evening out followed by clothing, candy and flowers. Hallmark reports some 145 million greeting cards will be exchanged and that does not include the ones kids give out in school classrooms. As a group teachers receive the cards followed by children, mothers and wives.

Roses continue to be a very popular gift with nearly 250 million grown in preparation for the big day. While red is the most popular because it symbolizes love other colors like deep pink, yellow, purple and white are also given out. In case you were wondering the traditional heart-shaped box of chocolate was created by Richard Cadbury in 1861 and more than 36 million of those are expected to be sold each year.

There are a couple of things that always stand out for me. There are many people who don’t have someone to share today with which is not easy when you are surrounded by reminders. Then there are those guys who will wait until the very last minute and come home with junk while their other half has gone overboard to make the day special. The result will not be pretty.

Happy Valentine’s Day!