Fun Facts: Valentine’s Day and LOVE

Clarksville, TN – Valentine’s Day, celebrated annually on February 14th, is a special occasion dedicated to love and affection. It’s a day when people express their feelings and appreciation for their loved ones through thoughtful gestures, heartfelt messages, and exchanging tokens of affection.

Traditionally associated with romantic love, the day has evolved to encompass all forms of love, including friendships and familial bonds. Whether it’s the exchange of flowers, chocolates, or sentimental cards, Valentine’s Day allows us to celebrate and cherish the connections that bring warmth and joy to our lives.

It’s a day to express gratitude and affection, making it a memorable and love-filled moment for people around the world.

Here are some Love and Valentine’s Day Facts

1. Saint Valentine is the patron saint of beekeepers and epilepsy, among other things.
2. The oldest known Valentine still in existence is a poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London.
3. The Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates St. Trifon’s Day on February 14th, honoring a Christian martyr.
4. Alexander Graham Bell applied for the patent for the telephone on Valentine’s Day in 1876.
5. February 14th is not only Valentine’s Day but also International Book Giving Day and National Ferris Wheel Day.
6. The Italian city of Verona, home to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, receives thousands of letters addressed to Juliet each Valentine’s Day.
7. In the Philippines, mass weddings on Valentine’s Day are common, where hundreds of couples get married in public ceremonies.
8. Mathematician and computer science pioneer Ada Lovelace, born on December 10th, 1815, is often considered the first computer programmer, and her work is celebrated annually on February 14th as Ada Lovelace Day.
9. The League of Women Voters was founded on February 14th, 1920.
10. The first woman to graduate from the United States Naval Academy, Janie L. Mines, did so on February 14th, 1980.
11. On February 14th, 1778, the United States flag was formally recognized by a foreign naval vessel for the first time when French Admiral Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte rendered a nine-gun salute to USS Ranger.
12. Oregon was admitted as the 33rd U.S. state on Valentine’s Day in 1859.
13. Arizona became a state on February 14th, 1912.
14. The XOXO symbol for hugs and kisses dates to medieval times when illiterate people signed an X and kissed it as a seal of sincerity.
15. On February 14th, 1946, the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer), one of the world’s earliest general-purpose electronic digital computers, was unveiled.
16. In 2005, YouTube was founded by three former PayPal employees, Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim, on February 14th.
17. In the Middle Ages, people believed that if you saw a robin on Valentine’s Day, you would marry a sailor.
18. The tradition of sending love notes on Valentine’s Day dates to the 17th century.
19. In the 1800s, people exchanged intricately folded love notes known as “puzzle purses.”
20. The first American to orbit the Earth, John Glenn, orbited three times on February 20th, 1962.
21. The Voyager 1 spacecraft, launched in 1977, took the first photo of the entire solar system on Valentine’s Day in 1990.
22. In the Middle Ages, it was believed that the first unmarried person of the opposite sex you met on Valentine’s Day would become your spouse.
23. Richard Cadbury introduced the first box of chocolates for Valentine’s Day in the late 1800s.
24. The red rose became a symbol of love due to its association with the Roman goddess Venus.
25. More than 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate are sold for Valentine’s Day each year.
26. In Finland and Estonia, Valentine’s Day is more about celebrating friendships and is called “Friend’s Day.”
27. The tradition of Valentine’s Day cards became popular in the United States in the 19th century.
28. The red rose became a symbol of love due to its association with the Roman goddess Venus.
29. The Taj Mahal, one of the world’s most famous symbols of love, was completed in 1653 by Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal.
30. The love knot, a symbol of eternal love, originated in Roman times and was popularized in the Victorian era.