Today, Valentine’s Day is a day of love, romance, and an opportunity to show those close to you, just how much you care. The holiday has ancient origins and is recognized in different ways all over the world. Whether it’s a bouquet of fresh flowers, a handwritten note, or some delicious treats, there are many ways to celebrate this sweet day. Learn more about Valentine’s Day with these fun facts!

Heart-Shaped Boxes

The son of the manufacturer of Cadbury Chocolate first began packaging his family’s product in beautiful heart-shaped boxes to drive up sales. From that first Valentine’s Day box sold in the 1860s grew an industry that now counts for some 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate sold annually.

Valentine’s Day Flowers

Valentine’s Day is florists’ busiest day of the year, ahead of even Christmas and Mother’s Day. Red roses as a symbol of romance date back to ancient Rome — it was the favorite posy of Venus, the Roman goddess of love (and Cupid’s mom). But it wasn’t until the Victorian era that men really began giving the flower to women they were wooing. Today, there are approximately 50 million roses given on Valentine`s Day around the world.

A Big Day for Cards

Around 190 million cards are sent on Valentine’s Day. This makes it the second most popular holiday to send cards after Christmas. This doesn’t include handwritten notes that are exchanged. Nor does it include the hundreds of millions of cards and treats children exchange in their classrooms each year!

Lots of Candy Hearts

There are enough candy hearts made each year to stretch from Valentine, AZ to Rome, Italy, and back again – 20 times! The candies are made year-round but only sold during a 6-week period around the holiday. About 8 billion candy hearts are produced each year!

The Price of Love

Americans spent more than $20 billion on the holiday in 2019 and were predicted to exceed that figure by $7.4 billion in 2020. Men spend about $291 on average, which is a significant chunk more than women, who spend about $106 on average.

How will you be celebrating Valentine’s Day this year? We would love to hear about the plans you have with your children! Let us know in the comments or on Facebook!