Valentine’s Day 2014 is almost upon us, and we’ve compiled some interesting statistics and facts about the holiday.
Let’s check them out:
-An estimated 233 million roses were purchased on Valentine’s Day last year, according to eNation. The most fresh flowers per year are sold on the holiday.
-One out of five roses purchased were for the buyer’s mother.
-More than half of the gift givers this year will buy candy, according to the National Retail Foundation, spending $1.6 billion. Another one-third will buy flowers.
-Men will spend an average of $175 on the holiday this year, compared to an average of $88 for women.
-There’s no consensus on how Valentine’s Day started. One theory is that St. Valentine defied a ban by the Roman emperor Cladius II--meant to bolster the army--of no young men marrying by performing secret marriages. However, this eventually got Valentine executed on February 14, sometime between the years 300 and 400 A.D.
