Happy Valentine's Day!: The Story Behind the Holiday

There are several different opinions as to who was the original Valentine, but most people popularly believe that he was a clergymen executed for secretly marrying couples in Ancient Rome. February 14 was declared Valentine Day by Pope Gelasius I in A.D. 496.

The first mass-produced valentine cards were sold in the 1840s. The trend of card-giving and gift-giving has grown hugely through today.

Flowers

All the domestically produced cut flowers for flower-producing businesses with $100,000 or more in sales in the United States had a combined wholesale value of $359 million in 2009.  Roses alone had a combined wholesale value of $18 million.

There were 18,509 florists working nationwide in 2008, employing 89,741 people.

Chocolate/Candy

The average American ate 24.3 pounds of candy in 2009.

There were 3,375 confectionary and nut stores in the United States in 2008.

The total value of shipments for firms producing chocolate and cocoa products was $12.2 billion in 2008.

1,317 U.S. manufacturers produced chocolate and cocoa products in 2008, employing 38,369 people. California had the most, at 146, while Pennsylvania followed with 115.

Jewelry

There were 26,683 jewelry stores in the United States in 2008. In February 2010, these stores sold $2.4 billion in merchandise.

The nation has 1,644 jewelry manufacturers.

Marriage Stats

2.1 million marriages took place in the United States in 2009, breaking down to nearly 5,800 a day.

The median age at first marriage is 28.2 for men and 26.1 for women.

As of 2004, 6 percent of currently married women had been married for at least 50 years. A little more than half of currently married women had been married for at least 15 years.

19 percent of people married twice among those who have ever been married as of 2009. Five percent have married three or more times. 75 percent of people who have ever been married have only been married once.

Another Fun Fact

393 number of dating service establishments existed nationwide as of 2007, employing 3,125 people and pulling in $927 million in revenue.

Facts were collected from various sources originating from the United States Census Bureau.