1. In the middle Ages, people believed that the first unmarried person of the opposite sex you met on the morning of St. Valentine's Day would become your spouse.
2. Pope Gelasius I declared Feb. 14 as Valentine Day in A.D. 496. Over time, the Christian holiday became associated with romance and exchanging love messages. St. Valentine became the patron saint of lovers.
3. It wasn't until 1537 that St. Valentine's Day was declared an official holiday. England's King Henry VIII declared February 14th a holiday in 1537 for the first time.
4. The modern history of Valentine's Day includes Esther Howland, a native of Massachusetts in the 1840s, who is credited with selling the first mass-produced valentine cards.
5. It is believed that it was on February 14th, that St. Valentine was put to death. Before dying, he wrote a note for his love - the jailer's daughter, signed "From Your Valentine".
6. Sweden is the only country that does not celebrate Valentine's Day.
7.Flowers are the most popular Valentine's Day gift.
8. In the Middle Ages, men and women used to draw names from a bowl to see who their valentine
would be.
9.Valentine's Day is believed to have its roots in the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia.
