Valentine Day Facts

Approximately 110 million roses, mostly red, are sold and delivered in the U.S. within a three-day time period before Valentine's Day.

Christian legend says Valentine's Day is the Feast of St. Valentine. The Roman Emperor Claudius II, called "Claudius the Cruel," did not want any marriages to take place during war-time. He believed married men, who wanted to stay home with their wives, made poor soldiers. But Bishop Valentine performed marriages anyway and was beheaded for his crimes on February 14, 270 A.D.

Ancient cultures believed the soul lived in the heart, that it was the source of emotion, intelligence, and truth. The ancient Greeks believed the heart was the target of Eros, whom the Romans called Cupid. Anyone shot in the heart by one of Cupid's arrows would fall hopelessly in love. Thus, the heart became linked to love.

Happy Valentine Day!