We Bet You Didn’t Know These Weird Valentine’s Day Facts!

by Aishani Laha · February 14, 2018

There is no denying that everyone is obsessed with Valentine’s Day. Everyone gets excited from one week in advance, they start picking out their dresses and their gifts and asking each other out and saving up to go all out for the people they love or admire. If you know these are all the Valentine’s Day facts that exist, then you are wrong.

Valentine’s Day is much more about buying each other cards and presents and going out on expensive dates and expensive outings. It has a rich and interesting history, full of intrigue and adventure. From the bygone days when Valentine’s Day used to be something else entirely, so some of the strangest ways in which the modern world has decided to interpret this day. Here are some Valentine’s Day facts that are definitely going to take you by surprise!

1. South Korea celebrates a Single’s People Day after Valentine’s Day

Image source: Google, copyright-free image, under Creative Commons License

Like the rest of the world, South Korea also loves its Valentine’s Day. On February 14^th, however, they do things a little differently from the rest of the world, where it is the men who are the object of pursuit and affection. Women go all out showering them with gifts and expressing all kinds of admiration for them. Don’t worry though; women get their own chance as well. On White Day, if the men they wooed liked them back, they give the women gifts and take them out.

The weirdest part is, South Korea is also considerate towards those people who have yet been unlucky in love, and celebrate Black Day in March, where single people gather and eat black noodles! Weird, right?

2. A lot of money will be spent on Valentine’s Day

There are a group of people who take note of how much money is spent on Valentine’s Day each year, how the demographic functions when it comes to spending money and have also predicted how much money is going to be spent on the big day this year!

Last year, the average American spent $100.89, but this year, they expected to spend slightly more, with the average American spending a little over $120. It has also been found that it is usually men who tend to spend more on Valentine’s Day, because while women only spent an average of $85, men spent $156 in comparison! That sounds pretty reasonable right? Let me sum it up for you.

On an average, Americans alone spend $4.7 billion on jewelry, $1.8 billion on candy and chocolate and a whopping $2 billion on flowers. Yup, let that sink in.

3. Valentine’s Day began as a secret rebellion

Image source: Pixabay, under Creative Commons License

The story goes that Emperor Claudius II, who was the Emperor of Rome during that time, was against the idea that his soldiers were getting distracted because they were getting married and their hearts were in their home, and not on the battlefields. He forbade his men to get married, which led to unrest and rebellion. One Bishop, namely Bishop Valentine, agreed to help these men get secretly married without the knowledge of the emperor.

Things didn’t work out for him nicely, however, because Claudius found out about this, put him in jail and executed him. It is said that when he was imprisoned, he wrote a letter to his daughter while he was in jail, and that letter was signed, “From your Valentine.” Sounds familiar?

4. Valentine’s Day used to be like lottery day

Yup, you read that right. Now, we have the freedom to choose who can be our Valentine, should they accept. We can go out with someone we like, or even choose to sit at home alone and eat ice cream and binge watch Netflix. Things were a little different back in the medieval times, however.

In England, single men and women used to put their names in two different urns, and they would take turns picking out a name of the opposite gender. For the rest of the day, they would roam the streets wearing the name of the person they picked so that everyone could see how their Valentine was. Thus, the phrase, “wearing your heart on your sleeve” emerged. Even though it might sound romantic now, try doing something like this with random strangers.

5. People write letters to Juliet on Valentine’s Day

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If you have seen that super sappy movie with Amanda Seyfried in it, you know what I am talking about. For those of you who haven’t, people from all over the world write letters to Juliet on Valentine’s Day. Who is Juliet you might ask? It is legit the heroine of Shakespeare’s most famous play- Romeo and Juliet.

Apparently, people were so enchanted by the character that they started to write letters to her on the day of love and the tradition continues to this day, where the city of Verona in Italy, which is supposed to be the birthplace of the character, receives thousands of letters. Not bad for a fictional character that got herself killed by mistake at the age of 16.

6. Valentine’s Day is banned in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is a country which has a lot of restrictions. Just recently they celebrated a legislative move which allowed women to drive on their own, which is pretty progressive. However, they still aren’t very keen on celebrating love and romance so openly, because Valentine’s Day is actually banned in the entire country.

How do you ban people from celebrating a holiday? Well, flowers, especially roses, Valentines’ themed candy and jewelry and greeting cards are all banned from being sold, starting from the week before Valentine’s Day. According to the authority in the country, things like Valentine’s Day promote premarital sex and the consumption of alcohol, which is all against the official religion of the country.

7. It’s a great day for drug stores

Image source: Pixabay, under Creative Commons License

You thought only those who sell flowers, chocolate, and jewelry have it good on Valentine’s Day? You’re wrong. Statistics show that there are several other businesses that profit from the so-called day of love, such as drugs and medicines companies and pharmaceutical shops.

According to Durex, one of the top condom companies in the world, last year the sale of condoms increases by a whopping 20%-30% during Valentine’s Day. In general, the sale of pregnancy tests and pee sticks also increases, and March is the month where the highest number of pregnancy tests are bought by women. Medicines which are used to treat STDs and UTIs also see a spike in sale during the months of February and March.

Want to know a fun fact? Penicillin, which is used to treat diseases like syphilis, was also introduced on 14^th February 1929.

8. Finland celebrates Valentine’s Day…for friends

The world is totally obsessed with couples and love and romance, and that has naturally become the idea of Valentine’s Day. Can you imagine a Valentine’s Day which has nothing to do with couples holding hands and making out, bathed in red and exchanging presents?

Finland apparently can. On February 14^th, Finland doesn’t celebrate couples or the romantic kind of love per se. They celebrate a day for friends, and they call it Ystavanpaiva. Friends take time out to give each other presents and tokens of appreciation. This too is a form of expressing love, and we totally dig this idea, because it allowed singles to not mope and be sad.

9. Teachers get the most number of Valentine’s Day cards

Image source: Google, copyright-free image, under Creative Commons License

You would think that Valentine’s Day is all about couples who go all out to buy each other memorable trinkets and ornaments and tokens of appreciation to express how much they love each other. However, according to Hallmark and other greeting cards companies, the people who receive the most number of Valentine’s Day cards are teachers!

We are not sure why this trend exists, and why teachers are at the receiving end of Valentine’s Day cards, but we do love our teachers, and in middle school, I won’t blame a few children to have their first crushes on their teachers, and what better way to express their love and admiration, than with a sweet Valentine’s Day card?

10. Henry VIII created Valentine’s Day

I told you the story about who the original Valentine was, and what he did to make it so special. However, dates weren’t the same then as they are now, so who decided February the 14^th would be celebrated as the official day of love? Henry VIII of course! Yup, that is the dude with the 6 wives (whom he executed). In 1537, Henry declared that 14^th February would be celebrated as Valentine’s Day, and was considered an official national holiday!

We hope you enjoyed these weird, but true Valentine’s Day facts, and we hope you have the best time this Valentine’s Day, with your bae. And even if there isn’t a bae, you can always move to Finland or South Korea!

Featured image source: Shutterstock

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