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Who was St. Valentine? Is Valentine’s Day an invention of the flower industry? The most important facts about the day of love.
- Valentine’s Day is celebrated by millions of couples around the world on February 14th every year
- Originally, the “Day of Love” was a church day of remembrance in honor of Saint Valentine
- We have summarized the most important facts about Valentine’s Day for you
For the valentines day Many couples celebrate their love in a particularly romantic way. Some people, on the other hand, are rather annoyed by the “Day of Love” – while others stand in front of their partner embarrassed because they forgot to get a gift. To avoid that – after all, there shouldn’t be a dispute on February 14 of all days – we answer the most important questions about Valentine’s Day.
Facts about Valentine’s Day: when is dhe day of love?
Valentine’s Day occurs on February 14th every year. 2023 will be the day of Love so on a Tuesday. However, since it is not a public holiday, couples do not have the whole day to themselves. Those planning a romantic meal in the restaurant should therefore reserve early – tables will be popular on Tuesday evenings. Also interesting: Valentine’s Day – The best WhatsApp sayings for lovers
what will happen on valentines day celebrated?
Millions of couples around the world celebrate their love on Valentine’s Day and give each other presents Flower, go out to eat and spend the day together. But hardly anyone knows why people make such an effort to get to know their partner on Valentine’s Day.
Originally, Valentine’s Day was a church commemoration that went back to one of the earliest Christians: Valentine of Terni. The Saint Valentine lived in the 3rd century AD. At that time, Christianity in the Roman Empire was not only a very small religion, it was also forbidden. Nevertheless, Valentin married lovers according to the Christian faith. After the wedding, according to tradition, he gave the couple flowers that he picked in his garden. Valentin is said to have even married soldiers who were forbidden by Roman law to marry.
Valentine’s Day: The brutal story behind the celebration
The romantic story However, it came to an abrupt and utterly unromantic end for Valentin von Terni. Valentin was arrested and beheaded – on February 14, 269. February 14 has been preserved as a memorial day in his honor.
Even if the Church Valentine of Terni canonized, its existence is historically difficult to prove and is shrouded in legend. At the same time there was also Valentine of Rome, also a martyr. It could therefore be that the stories about two different Valentines were woven into one.
Is the flower industry behind Valentine’s Day?
The historically uncertain evidence surrounding Saint Valentine finally led to a theory of its own: Valentine’s Day is a capitalist invention. What an excellent coincidence that Saint Valentine gave the couples flowers from his garden of all things, making flowers the symbol of Valentine’s Day. However, many skeptics do not believe in coincidences. You mean: The lobby of the florist and candy seller made up the day to increase his own profits.
However, it should be borne in mind that the day is much older than the flower lobby and even more so than that confectionery industry. Pope Gelasius included Valentine’s Day in the general calendar in 469, but dropped it again in 1969. Nevertheless, Valentine was thought of long before the flower trade reached its present-day features.
Nevertheless, it can be said that florists and confectionery manufacturers know perfectly how to promote Valentine’s Day and make a profit from it. According to a survey by the Institute IFH Cologne on behalf of the trade association Germany around 17 percent of citizens made targeted additional purchases for Valentine’s Day in 2021. For retailers, this means billions in sales.
In the weeks leading up to the day of love, many shop windows are lit up red hearts or heart-shaped balloons and chocolate wrappers. In the meantime, even discounters like Lidl and Aldi have numerous items suitable for Valentine’s Day. In 2018, Lufthansa alone transported 800 tons of red roses to Germany – most of them come from the Netherlands.
The flower branch makes perfect use of the day: prices rise by almost eight percent on average, and florists’ sales on Valentine’s Day are 400 percent above average. Incidentally, the people of Hamburg spend the most money on flowers: On average, they pay 36 euros, according to the “Handelsblatt”.
What are good Valentine’s Day gifts?
Red roses for Valentine’s Day are the classic. Three quarters of Valentine’s Day gifts are flowers, one in six Gift is a candy. An evaluation by Google Trends shows that roses are the most popular flowers and chocolate is the most popular sweets. Chocolates are also one of the Valentine’s Day classics. But: It can be much better and more romantic.
Because: Doing it yourself is always better. They can do that chocolates but homemade gifts such as a photo album, homemade chocolate or your partner’s favorite cake can also bring joy. And a love letter can also be a very personal gift.
Almost half of the recipients receive a card, one in three Dinner. Of course, an erotic component should not be missing on Valentine’s Day, every tenth gift is a lingerie. Perfume is also a popular gift.
Because free time is scarce, it is also becoming increasingly popular time together To give away. For example, cooking courses, wellness and going to the theater are very popular. Hotels are also happy about a large number of visitors on Valentine’s Day – and sometimes raise prices sharply. The most popular destinations on Valentine’s Day are Paris and Venice.
What about erotic gifts for Valentine’s Day?
The Online trade also booms on Valentine’s Day. It’s not just flowers that are now conveniently ordered from the sofa, everything to do with – physical – love ends up in the online shopping basket.
How much money do Germans spend on Valentine’s Day gifts?
On average, Germans spend around 50 euros on Valentine’s Day. As with the Flower overall, the people of Hamburg are the ones who spend the most money on gifts. They spend an average of 73.60 euros on Valentine’s Day, closely followed by the people of Bremen, who spend an average of 72.80 euros. Brandenburg (EUR 66.34) follows at a clear distance in third place.
Hesse (35.05 euros), Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (34.67 euros) and Saxony-Anhalt (33.83 euros) spend the least money on Valentine’s Day.
Is Valentine’s Day also celebrated in other countries?
Valentine’s Day is celebrated worldwide. Here are some examples:
- In the USA it is a popular custom for school children and young people to make themselves happy with Valentine cards they have written themselves. Around 190 million cards are sent on Valentine’s Day.
- If you don’t have a permanent partner, you have to go in Great Britain do not be sad. Because there, couples are drawn on Valentine’s Day, who then give each other a little attention. According to timeanddate.com, Britons spend around £1.3 billion a year on Valentine’s gifts.
- In South Africa Valentine’s Day is a visual eye-catcher. Because people dress in white and red to symbolize purity and love.
- In Japan women give dark chocolate to men on the day of love. A month later, on March 14th, it’s the men’s turn and they return the favor with white chocolate.
- In China the counterpart to Valentine’s Day, the Qixi festival, does not take place on February 14th, but on the evening of the seventh day of the seventh month according to the Chinese lunar calendar. In 2023 that is August 22nd. In China it is customary for young women to meet at the Qixi Festival to thread needles together. Fruits are also artistically carved, for example in the form of birds or flowers.
Is it okay to hate Valentine’s Day too?
If you’re not in love right now, Valentine’s Day shouldn’t matter much. But also many couples do not think much of celebrating February 14th as the day of love. 40 percent of Germans said in 2015 that they would hate the day.
More articles from this category can be found here: Life
