Valentine's day facts

Soooo today is the 14th of February.....although I am not such a believer of St. Valentine's day, I think that   any chance to celebrate love is welcomed!!!


Mom & Dad 0n their wedding day



For me this day has a different meaning, as if my father was alive today he and my mother would celebrate 51 years of happy marriage...

When they got married back in 1960 in Greece they had absolutely no idea about who St Valentine was, as in my country it was about the mid 80's that this holiday started to be popular, however for my family this was always a significant date that was celebrated.....

for this day I thought that it would be intersting to know some funny facts......

• It was Pope Gelasius who declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day around 498 A.D.
• The British artist Kate Greenaway became famous for her valentines in the late 1800's. Many of her cards featured charming pictures of happy children and lovely gardens.
• According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year, after Christmas.
• Commercial Valentine cards were first made in the early 1800's. Many of them were blank inside, with space for the sender to write a message.
• The first Valentine gift was sent by Duke of Orleans to his wife, after he was captured in 1415.
• The first Valentine's Day box of chocolates was introduced by Richard Cadbury in 1868.
• Alexander Graham Bell applied for his patent to the telephone on Valentine’s Day, 1876.(imagine today how many sms or mms will be delivered all over the world due to St. Valentine's day)
• The Italian city of Verona, where Shakespeare's lovers Romeo and Juliet lived, receives about 1,000 letters addressed to Juliet every Valentine's Day.
• The most fantastic gift of love is the Taj Mahal in India. It was built by Mughal Emperor Shahjahan as a memorial to his wife.
• In oden times, some people believed that if a woman saw a robin flying overhead on Valentine's Day, it meant she would marry a sailor. If she saw a sparrow, she would marry a poor man and be very happy. If she saw a goldfinch, she would marry a millionaire (I am running to the pet-shop.....maybe I ll see a goldfinch there.....).

Valentine kisses & love wishes

mdq