Friday Fun Facts About Valentine’s Day

Love is in the air. It’s that time of year again when we set aside a day to show extra appreciation to our significant other. We should be showing appreciation everyday, but since we don’t always behave as we should, it’s nice to have a special day to drive that message home.

Some Fun Facts About Valentine’s Day

Love and Weather? Groundhog Day used to be celebrated on February 14^th. No box of candy? Six weeks of cold in the house.
Valentine’s cards are second only to Christmas. Lovers spend $227 million finding just the right card.
There are 1,155 manufacturing plants employing over 35,000 people that make some kind of chocolate or cocoa products in the US for a total value of $13.5 billion.
California (121) and Pennsylvania (114) take the lead in chocolate and cocoa manufacturing plants.
Valentine’s Day is not confined to chocolate alone. Over 400 other locations in the US, employing an additional 17,000 workers, produce non-chocolate confectionary products accounting for $8.8 billion dollars.
It’s wouldn’t be Valentine’s without flowers. 16,182 florists, employing 70,000 people will sell $880 million dollars worth with roses accounting for $365 million.
Diamonds are a girl’s best friend. Valentine’s day keeps 23,739 jewelry stores busy with engagement and wedding rings as well as other sparkly items to make the day memorable. Add $2.6 billion to the Valentine’s Day coffers.
While Valentine’s Day is a popular wedding day, people are married almost every day. Marriages in the US average 5,800 per day.
Who needs mistletoe? 39,897 people in Mexico City set the record for the largest group kiss on Valentine’s Day in 2010.
Need some good luck. A Valentine’s Day kiss is said to produce good luck all year long. Not sure if tongues will increase your odds or not.
A New York engraver, Robert Elton, is credited with producing the first Valentine in America in 1834.
Make sure you buy and send the correct flowers: Red roses mean love, yellow friendship and pink sweetheart. When it comes to carnations, red means admiration, while white means pure love.
Those little candy “conversation hearts” that have the little one or two word saying on them have a shelf life of five years. Stock up now and save some for Halloween.

Some Final Thoughts

While Valentine’s Day celebrates couples there are those who resent that celebration of happiness. “Quirkyalone Day” is one alternative and those celebrants consider being in a relationship is tyranny. S.A.D. (Single Awareness Day) is for those who feel that just because you happen to be alone on February 14^th there is still a lot of life to live. So, have a heart today.