Here are facts and figures about Valentine's Day for your Valentine's Day reading pleasure:
*The lovers' holiday traces its roots to raucous annual Roman festivals where men stripped naked, grabbed goat- or dog-skin whips, and spanked young maidens in hopes of increasing their fertility.
*In the Middle Ages, there was a belief that the first unmarried person of the opposite sex you met on the morning of St. Valentine's Day would become your spouse.
*The first Valentine gift was sent by Duke of Orleans to his wife, after he was captured in 1415 and was a prisoner in the Tower of London following the Battle of Agincourt.
*Valentine's Day cards – mostly handwritten notes – gained popularity in the U.S. during the Revolutionary War. Mass production started in the early 1900s.
*Hallmark began selling cards in 1913. Since then the market for Valentine's Day cards has increased beyond lovers to include parents, children, siblings, and friends.
*About 190 million cards are exchanged annually, making Valentine's Day the second-most popular greeting-card giving occasion.
*65 percent of households send greeting cards on Valentine's Day.
*73 percent of Valentine Day flowers are bought by men, while women buy 23 percent of Valentine flowers.
*About 45.8 percent of U.S. consumers will exchange Valentine's Day candy. About 75 percent of is from sales of chocolate
*Americans will spend about $14.7 billion in retail sales on Valentine's Day in the United States.*The average U.S. consumer is expected to spend $103 on Valentine's Day gifts, meals, and entertainment, down from $123 per person in 2008.
