65900 valentines facts

Valentine’s Day:
Facts and Information

Valentine’s Day is celebrated every year on 14th February in

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lots of countries around the world.
Valentine’s Day is sometimes referred to as the Feast of

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Saint Valentine or Saint Valentine’s Day.
It began as a celebration of two Christian saints, Saint

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Valentine of Rome and Saint Valentine of Terni.
Legend has it that Saint Valentine of Rome was imprisoned

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by the

Romans for

aiding

persecuted

Christians.

He

was

questioned by the Roman Emperor Claudius II and he was
executed for attempting to convert the Emperor to Christianity.
Other stories of Saint Valentine of Rome tell of him

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performing a miracle, when he was in prison, to heal the daughter
of Asterius, his jailer. Before his execution, Valentine wrote to
Julia, the jailer’s daughter, signing it ‘Your Valentine’, thereby
writing the first Valentine’s card.
Saint Valentine is said to have worn an amethyst ring with

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bearing an image of Cupid.
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In the Middle Ages, Valentine’s Day became
associated with romance and courtly love.


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The earliest Valentine’s message to have
survived is a short poem written by the Duke of

Orleans to his wife in the 15th century. When it was
written, the Duke of Orleans was in the Tower of London, a
prisoner of the English following his role in the Battle of Agincourt.

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In 1477 Margery Brewes wrote a Valentine’s message to her
husband-to-be, John Paston. The message has survived and it is
part of the Paston Letters.

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Valentine’s

Day

is

spoken

about

in Hamlet by William

Shakespeare.
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In 18th century England, people expressed their love on
Valentine’s Day by presenting their loved one with flowers,
sweets,

chocolates

and

Valentine’s

Day

greeting

cards

(Valentines). Most Valentines were sent anonymously.
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By the 19th century, Valentines were produced in factories.

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The first mass-produced Valentines in the United States were
manufactured by Esther Howland in the late 1840s.

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In the UK, more than £1 billion is spent on Valentine’s Day
and more than 20 million cards are sent.

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In the US, more than 150 million cards are sent.
Symbols of Valentine’s day include heartshapes, images of Cupid and doves.