Thursday, 11 2010

love is in the air

Ahhh… it’s almost that time of the year again. Valentine’s Day!

I’m sure, like many of you, I never really bought into Valentine’s Day, believing it was only a celebration fueled by the likes of Hallmark to persuade consumers to buy, buy, buy.

That was until my husband proposed on Valentine’s Day two years ago while we vacationed at a gorgeous, scenic and secluded Fijian resort! Then we married a year later on the same day! Now I have a new-found appreciation of Valentine’s Day (not too soppy though!) and for something new decided to see what I could find out about this little love fest of a day.

So here are 5 interesting facts about Valentine’s Day:

(1) Valentine’s Day began during the heyday of the Roman Empire, which held a festival every February. This Lupercian Festival was held in honor of the God of Fertility and during the festivities young men would get to choose their mate. At the time marriage was a common occurrence.

(2) Valentines Day is a day of symbols. Heart: The center of emotions. People believed that when they gave a heart, they were truly giving all of the love and emotion that they possibly could give. Rose: The rose was sacred to Venus the Goddess of Love. Cupid: Its origins can be traced back to the days of the Roman Empire. Cupid is a Roman God, the symbol of passionate love (son of Venus). Birds: Particularly doves and lovebirds are popular (these two birds mate for life and it was believed that they choose their mate in the middle of February).

(3) In the Middle Ages men would pull a woman’s name out of a bowl. This would be the man’s Valentine. To show his devotion, the man would wear the paper containing the woman’s name on his sleeve for a week. This soon became known as ‘wearing your heart on your sleeve’.

(4) The U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately 1 billion valentines are sent each year worldwide, making the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year, behind Christmas. The association estimates that, in the US, men spend on average twice as much money as women.

(5) A Bruskin-Golding study discovered that 3% of all pet owners buy a Valentine’s Day gift for their pet.

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