Top 9 Intriguing Facts You May Not Know About Valentine's Day

Red Valentine is the traditional Valentine's Day, the day all lovers around the world eagerly anticipate. Legend has it that in a distant land, there was a despotic emperor who wanted to prohibit men and women from loving each other. But no matter how he tried to prevent it, lovers still found each other. Touched by this sincere love, Bishop Valentine sacrificed his life to accompany the loving couples to Heaven. And Valentine's Day was born. Red Valentine on February 14th is a day for lovers to express their feelings to each other. On this day, people give each other chocolates, red roses, and heartfelt cards... Sweet red Valentine...

Because love is always fresh every day, it seems that one Valentine's Day is not enough. Therefore, from the Land of the Rising Sun (Japan), another Valentine's Day was born and quickly embraced by young people, known as White Valentine. White Valentine is also known by names such as White Valentine, White Day. This is a great opportunity for lovers to be together. White day takes place one month after Valentine's Day, on March 14th, when men give gifts to their girlfriends. The gifts that girls can receive from their partners are black or white chocolates, jewelry...

Black Valentine, or Black day, is still commemorated by young Koreans every April 14th. Unlike its somewhat 'dark' name, this is a day for those who have not found their soulmate or those who worship singlehood to gather and throw lively parties. Who says lonely people are sad? On this day, they also go on dates, wear black outfits, and enjoy the traditional black noodle dish Jachang. On this day, happy singles can easily find sweet chocolate and indulge themselves as a reward for their cheerful single life.

Every Valentine's Day, gentlemen often buy roses to give to their better halves. It's no coincidence that they choose this type of flower to give to their loved ones. Roses symbolize enduring love, with the red color representing the intensity and passion of love. Moreover, roses are the favorite flowers of Venus (the Goddess of Beauty and Love in Greek mythology). Legend has it that the Goddess of Love was born with a white rose. In grief over the death of her beloved husband, the goddess inadvertently let the thorn of the rose prick her hand. The blood of her beloved turned the white rose into a red rose. Since then, the red rose has become a symbol of love. Giving roses on Valentine's Day is always the easiest choice because it's a flower symbolizing love, a sweet gift that almost every girl loves. Originating from Persia, it symbolizes eternal love. Roses come in many colors, and each color represents a different level of love. When giving roses, you should pay attention to some meaningful characteristics of its colors:

• Red roses symbolize intense, passionate love from the giver to the recipient, or it can be seen as a passionate, crazy love.
  
• Pink roses symbolize true love. This love is associated with purity, showing the gentle, mild feelings of the giver, or you can see the rose as a promise of enduring love.
  
• Yellow roses are considered by many to be flowers that should not be given to the other person on days of expressing affection because it means disloyalty. However, for some others, it is a symbol of the question: 'Do you love me?'
  
• White roses are flowers that certify pure, pure, noble love, or it can mean unspoken love.
• The lavender color of roses is a symbol of love at first sight between the giver and the recipient.
  
• Red and white are the clever combination of red and white roses. These two colors symbolize the combination of two people in love.

There are many accounts of the origin of Valentine's Day, but the most widely accepted hypothesis is that of Saint Valentine of Terni and the apostles, depicted by French artist Richard de Montbaston in the 14th century. Valentine was a priest under Roman Emperor Claudius II. In the 3rd century, the Roman Empire was engaged in many bloody wars and lacked popular support. Finding it difficult to recruit young men into the army, Claudius II believed that the main reason was that Roman men did not want to leave their families or lovers, and marriage only made men weak. Therefore, Claudius II issued a decree banning weddings or engagement ceremonies to focus on the wars. Priest Valentine in the city of Rome, along with Saint Marius, defied the decree of the powerful emperor and continued to perform wedding ceremonies for young couples in secret. When discovered, Priest Valentine was arrested and sentenced to death by being dragged and stoned to death.

In the afternoon before heading to the court, he sent the first 'Valentine's card' to the blind daughter of the prison guard Asterius, a congenitally blind girl whom he had previously healed by miracle, signing it 'dal vostro Valentino' - from your Valentine. To this day, couples still have the tradition of signing with the phrase 'From your Valentine' from the old days instead of their names in Valentine's cards. Gradually, February 14th every year has become a day of exchanging messages of love, and Saint Valentine has become the patron saint of couples. People commemorate this day by sending each other poems and giving each other traditional gifts such as roses and chocolates. Nowadays, almost all countries around the world celebrate this Valentine's Day.

Traditional heart imagery symbolizing love originates from ancient times and is not as romantic and sweet as many may think. The perfect heart shape for Valentine's Day is derived from a rare and precious herb - Silphium, belonging to the Ferula family. This plant was commonly used to make spicy foods and contraceptives, including abortions. As of today, Silphium is nearly extinct, with many believing that the last specimen of this plant was offered as a dinner to the emperor during the reign of Emperor Nero, Pliny. People became familiar with the image of its seeds through the casting on coins of Cyrene. Silphium was a very famous herb in ancient times, and today it is almost extinct.

In addition to its contraceptive properties, silphium was also highly regarded for its rumored ability to stimulate sexual desire. In both of these capacities, it was considered a trusted companion for loving couples. Depictions of silphium in ancient texts show its fruit in the shape of a heart, leading legends to suggest that young lovers favored using the heart shape in their communication, thus creating an association between the heart shape and romance. Furthermore, it was used in daily meals. The flower stems could be roasted, dried, or boiled to be eaten as vegetables. Its roots mixed with vinegar and eaten raw... It was also a perfect preservative for lentils and when fed to sheep, the lamb's meat tasted exquisite.

Besides roses, chocolate is a traditional gift on every Valentine's occasion, just like roses, giving chocolate to your loved one also carries its own significance. Chocolate became a gift on Valentine's Day starting in 1902. Chocolate, when first tasted, has a bitter taste similar to the bitter experiences that couples go through when together, but after the bitterness comes the sweet, fulfilling taste that couples will eventually receive. The flavor of chocolate is akin to the flavor of love, fluctuating between highs and lows. It is estimated that over 35 million heart-shaped chocolate boxes are sold on February 14th each year.

Chocolate is a candy with a slightly bitter taste when first bitten, sweet afterward, and accompanied by a creamy texture. This is also the blend of various emotions of love between couples. It is believed that the flavor of chocolate is the most authentic and accurate description of the various stages of love: there is anger, there is sweetness, there is empathy, there is sharing... Therefore, they are widely used gifts on holidays, parties, and especially on Valentine's Day. Although not a new gift, the eternal symbolic meaning of chocolate is always present. The significance of giving chocolate on Valentine's Day remains a sacred tradition that couples cherish and worship.

According to many people in different countries around the world, if a woman accidentally sees a robin bird on Valentine's Day, she will definitely marry a wizard. If it's a sparrow, the girl will marry a poor man. Although life may be difficult, it will be very happy because the man will always love, be loyal, and care for her. If that sparrow has yellow wings, on the contrary, the girl will marry a wealthy husband.

As a tradition, young women in America and England believe they can predict their future husband through the type of bird they see first on Valentine's Day. If it's a sparrow, they will marry a priest; a red robin bird symbolizes sailors, while a bluebird signifies a wealthy man. A sparrow indicates they will marry a farmer, a green bird represents a cheerful man, while a hawk symbolizes a hot-tempered man. If they see a dove, they will marry a kind man, but if it's a woodpecker, they will never marry.

The first person to send a Valentine's Day card was a Frenchman named Charles, Duke of Orleans, who was imprisoned for 25 years in the Tower of London after the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. During this time, Charles wrote a Valentine's card to his wife, but before the card could reach her, the duke's wife passed away. From then on, it became a habit to give Valentine's cards to loved ones to express sincerity, love, and longing.

In the medieval era, signing and writing words of love on Valentine's cards were prohibited, so instead of signing their names, lovers often wrote the symbol 'XOXO' on their cards to convey their sentiments. In the early 1800s, many companies began printing large quantities of Valentine's cards, and to this day, the Greeting Card Association estimates that about 190 million Valentine's cards are sent each year in the United States alone. Nowadays, couples in love often send roses and chocolates along with sweet and romantic Valentine's wishes on Valentine's Day. In addition, Valentine's cards are also indispensable.

Every Valentine's Day, couples commemorate, exchange meaningful gifts, and express sweet feelings for each other. Valentine's Day is the occasion for the world to honor the love between couples, the affection between lovers, and even the friendships across genders. Each Valentine's Day, people express their feelings through sweet wishes or meaningful gifts like cards, roses, chocolates, and some special presents.

According to a survey by an American newspaper, the most Valentine's cards recipients are teachers, followed by children, mothers, and wives. So, it seems that on Valentine's Day, the fairer sex is equally favored as on their dedicated days like Mother's Day, Women's Day... Valentine's cards are still considered simple yet meaningful gifts for our loved ones.

In the latter half of the 20th century, the classic Valentine's gifts were roses and chocolates, elegantly wrapped in red satin, nestled within heart-shaped boxes. However, by the 1980s, diamonds had been promoted by the diamond industry as a suitable, high-value gift for this sweet occasion. An interesting fact not widely known is that among those purchasing flowers on Valentine's Day, 73% are men and 27% are women.

It's estimated that about 15% of American women buy flowers for themselves on Valentine's Day, though it's unclear how many are married, single, or dating. Over 9 million people purchase gifts for their pets on this day. Teachers receive more Valentine's cards than children. Every year, Americans exchange over 1 billion Valentine's cards; of these, over 650 million belong to children aged 6 to 10. Most cards are purchased within 6 days before Valentine's Day.