Thought Valentine’s Day was just about love and spending time with your loved one?
With less than 3 days away, below are top 9 things you probably didn’t know about Valentine’s Day
1. In the 1800s doctors often advised their patients to eat chocolate to calm their pining for lost love. Nowadays chocolate is a popular Valentine’s gift.
2. A red rose was the favourite flower of Venus, the Roman goddess of love.
3. King Henry VII officially declared 14 February the holiday of St. Valentine’s Day in 1537.
4. It was considered bad luck to sign a Valentine’s card in Victorian times and some people still refuse to sign a card with their name to this day.
5. The X symbol became synonymous with a kiss in medieval times because most people couldn’t write their names so they signed with an X and kissed it.
6. In Medieval times girls ate strange food believing it would help them meet their future spouse.
7. The expression “wear your heart on your sleeve” has a few of possible origins. One is that in the Middle Ages men and women drew names from a bowl for their Valentine. They would then have to wear the name pinned to their sleeve for a week.
8. According to CNN.com in 2012 Americans spent a average of $4.52 on their pets for Valentine’s Day.
9. Every year around 1000 letters are sent to ‘Juliet’ in the Italian city of Verona where Romeo and Juliet was set. It has become so popular that now the Club di Giulietta (Juliet Club) has taken over replying to the letters. Every year they also award a prize ‘Cara Giulietta’ (‘Dear Juliet’) for the most compelling letter received during the previous year.
