Happy Valentines Day! (A week early)

I am not a fan of Valentine's day. Maybe it's a deep seated resentment for never having received flowers at work or.... it could be a fear of being hit w/ an arrow shot by a psycho wearing wings and a diaper. There's just something truly wrong w/ cupid!

However... I am a fan of Trivia so.... Valentines Day Trivia seems a logical replacement.

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Did you know.....

15% of Women send THEMSELVES flowers on Valentines Day. (There's my answer! Why didn't I think of that sooner?)

About 3% of pet owners will give Valentine's Day gifts to their pets. (Guilty as charged! That reminds me... they had some really cute heart covered catnip mice...)

California produces 60 percent of American roses, but the vast number sold on Valentine's Day in the United States are imported, mostly from South America. Approximately 110 million roses, the majority red, will be sold and delivered within a three-day time period. (Talk about seeing red!)

Cupid, another symbol of Valentines Day, became associated with it because he was the son of Venus, the Roman god of love and beauty. Cupid often appears on Valentine cards holding a bow and arrows because he is believed to use magical arrows to inspire feelings of love. (Ahh God Syndrome! I knew there was a psychosis there somewhere!)

During the late 1800s, postage rates around the world dropped, and the obscene St. Valentine's Day card became popular, despite the Victorian era being otherwise very prudish. As the numbers of racy valentines grew, several countries banned the practice of exchanging Valentine's Days cards. During this period, Chicago's post office rejected more than 25,000 cards on the grounds that they were so indecent, they were not fit to be carried through the U.S. mail. (Aren't we obliged to send at least one racy card a year? I thought that was the TRUE tradition of Valentines)

In Victorian times it was considered bad luck to sign a Valentine's Day card. (And I always did it just to be Mischevious!)


And just a bit more....


The oldest known Valentines were sent in 1415 A.D. by the Duke of Orleans to his French wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. It is still on display in a museum in England.

The oldest surviving love poem is written in a clay tablet from the times of the Sumerians, inventors of writing, around 3500 B.C. It was unromantically named Istanbul #2461 by the archeologists who unearthed it.

The red rose was the favorite flower of Venus, the Roman goddess of love. Red stands for strong feelings which is why a red rose is a flower of love.

Valentine's Day is big business. Consumers will spend an average of $77.43 on Valentine's Day gifts this year. E-commerce retailers expect to rack up about $650 million in sales of food, candy, flowers, and other Valentine's Day gifts. Of that amount about $350 million will be for gifts and flowers and another $45 million will be spent on food (including chocolate) and wine.


Yep, I just "love" Valentines Day.

Hope you all have a Happy one anyway. :o)

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Hi Wen

Long time no speak! ;)

I used to love Valentines Day, I am now beginning to hate it. My hubby is going away on business for 2 weeks and its the second year hes been away on valentines day. >:-( I think hes trying to tell me something.

Cupid is an odd fellow. I agree. But I suppose if Cupid was attractive, it wouldn't really work.

On a personal note, one of my customers is a florist for a big multinational florist (answers on a postcard) and one of the deals this year is for 100 red roses for £500!! How in love/mad must you be to splash out 500 quid on a ball of roses in a bucket??

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I read that 85% of bulimics birthday parties, the cake jumps out of the girl.\

Unofficially, that is.

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Last Valentines Day I did something for me.

There comes a time when we should all do that.

So I went and ordered a dozen roses, and had the card sprayed with perfume, and had it delivered to me at home with the words "You Are Special" just to remind myself.

But of course my wife had to go and get all upset for some reason. I don't get it.

I re-read that and just got it. That is hysterical... I'll be using that one at a b-day party tomorrow night :D.

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dharrison you have a new mug shot... oops, I mean picture. :o) Dang fingers type before I think. Not unusual mind you. The picture looks nice.

Valentines is tomorrow does everyone have their flowers bought? I'm to cheap to buy flowers so I bought a diamond and tanzanite ring. Logical huh?

I found another little interesting tidbit about Valentines day.

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Love letters throughout the year are often signed with a string of "X's" to represent kisses. Why? Our practice of using an "X" grew out of the Medieval practive of letting those who could not write, mark documents with an "X" to represent their names. This was done in the presence of Witnesses and a kiss was given upon the "X:" to show sincerity. The "X" then became synonomous with the kiss in the minds of most people. There are two possible explanations why an "X" was chosen to represent one's name. One explanation is that the "X" shape was originally thought of as a cross. This "X" shaped cross was the symbol of St. Andrew. It may have been that people were making a pledge in the name of the Saint.



And History.......

The origin of the Valentines Day is shrouded in mystery and there are varying opinions about it. Its origin has become theme of many legends. St. Valentines Day as we celebrate today has remnants of both Christian and ancient Roman traditions. According to some legends Saint Valentine served as a priest at the temple during the reign of Emperor Claudius. Claudius then had Valentine jailed for defying his decree, which outlawed marriage for young men.

Some legends have it that the Valentines Day originated from St. Valentine, a Roman who was martyred for refusing to give up Christianity on Feb. 14, 269 A.D. Today the Roman Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine, all of whom were martyred. St. Valentine may have been imprisoned and later killed for helping Christians to escape harsh punishment in Roman prisons.

There is an interesting story portraying the love affair between St. Valentine and the jailor's daughter. St. Valentine left a farewell note for her, the note read- "from your Valentine². Valentine's Day is said to have started in the Roman Empire. In ancient Rome, February 14th was a holiday to honour Juno. Juno was the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans regarded her as the Goddess of women and marriage. The following day, February 15th, began the festival of Lupercalia, in honor of Lupercus, the hunter of wolves. Legends aside, the popularity of the Valentines Day rose manifold among the people and in tune with it Pope Gelasius set aside February 14 to honor St. Valentine, the patron saint of love and romance.


And....

That's all the Valentines I can handle until next year. Have a great one! And remember, rubber mallets are best if you don't get what you want. ;o)

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Women are soooooooooo Lucky....
Christmas followed by new year eve followed by Valentines day followed by mothers day and all we guys have is Fathers Day. Whats Up with that. I am coming up with my own special day called "whats up with That DAY'

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Ohhh thank you wen. I thought I'd smile for once. :)

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