Valentines Facts, traditions and trivia!

Valentines Facts , traditions and trivia!

Weird and wonderful Valentine’s facts from around the world.

Love it or loathe it St. Valentines Day is here to stay and it is celebrated around the world with a variety of different customs, some fairly traditional and some slightly bizarre!  Here are some Valentine facts – strange but true.

• Over 1 billion Valentines cards are exchanged around the world on February 14^th with the traditional colour of red being the favourite colour on the card as it stands for strong romantic feelings.
• In England in the Middle Ages, girls would eat unusual foods on St. Valentines Day to make them dream, and in their dreams, they would see a vision of their future husbands.
• Every Valentine’s Day the Italian City of Verona receives over 1000 letters addressed to Juliet.  The reason?  Romeo and Juliet “lived” in Verona for several years.
• In Denmark, it is traditional to send pressed white snowdrops as a Valentine gift to friends and lovers
• Another Valentine fact from Denmark is the tradition of the gaekkebrev – a funny, rhyming poem written by a man to his love interest.   He signs his name as a series of dots, with each dot representing a letter in his name.  Then if the woman can guess who sent the poem, she receives an Easter Egg from him on Easter day.
• February 14th in Japan is a chocolate-filled day.   In Japan women traditionally buy their husbands and boyfriends honmei choco (true love chocolates) while male co-workers or friends receive giri choco (obligation chocolates). Women also gift tomo choco to their female friends, but that’s a newer tradition. Men return the favour on March 14^th called White Day, with chocolates in white boxes.
• Singapore has an interesting Valentines fact and tradition.  They celebrate Valentine’s day on February 15, when single women write down their phone numbers on mandarin oranges, then throw them into the Singapore River, hoping it will bring them luck in meeting their soul mates.
• An American Valentine fact from over 100 years ago states that the Chicago post office refused to deliver about 25,000 Valentine postcards because their messages were not nice! The caustic cards were called “Vinegar Valentines”.
• In Saudi Arabia, during the year 2002, the sale of all Valentines Day items was banned and shop workers were told to remove any red items, as the day is considered a Christian holiday.  In 2008, this ban created a black market for roses and wrapping paper.
• And finally a very quirky Valentines fact!  An estimated 3% of pet owners will show love for their pets by purchasing special Valentine’s Day gifts.

Verona, Italy on St Valentines Day – Home to Romeo and Juliet

Related Articles: Alternative Valentine’s Day Ideas and The History of St Valentine’s Day