A Small Tribute To The Day For Love
- St. Valentine's Day -

The famous Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II had 111 sons and 51 daughters all together, and was a military leader at 10. Close X

The oldest surviving love poem is written in a clay tablet during the Sumerian civilization, around 3500 B.C. Close X

In the night before the wedding in ancient Rome, the bride-to-be gave her bulla (her birth locket) to her father and her toys to her family. The wedding dress was a straight tunic, woven in one piece, which was long enough to reach the bride’s feet. Close X

The first known recorded association of St Valentine's Day with romantic love was in the 14th century in England and France, where February 14 came to be recognized traditionally the day on which birds paired off to mate. Close X

Roses continue to dominate the Valentine’s gift market in the United States, but in Denmark, people exchange dainty white snowdrop flowers. Close X

Wedding rings are worn on the fourth finger of the left hand because people used to believe that the vein in this finger goes directly to the heart. Close X

Florists just happen to sell 20 to 200 times as many flowers during Valentine's Week as they would on a normal week. Close X

In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who would be their Valentine. They wore this name pinned on their sleeves for one week so that everyone can see it. This was the origin of the expression "to wear your heart on your sleeve". Close X

In the ancient Greece, Cassandra, daughter of Priam, was cursed by god Apollo for rejecting his love. Since that time no one had ever believed in any of her predictions. That curse had eventually taken its toll on the City of Troy when it was destroyed. The ‘Cassandra Syndrome’ is named after the tragic heroine Cassandra. Close X

American slaves were not supposed to include the oath “Till Death do us apart” in their weddings as the plantation master had the rights to separate them. They didn’t have any Christian ceremonial marriage, thus developed their own ceremony where the bride and the groom jumped over a broom symbolizing home in some parts of Africa. Close X

In the ancient Greece, Cassandra, daughter of Priam, was cursed by god Apollo for rejecting his love. Since that time no one had ever believed in any of her predictions. That curse had eventually taken its toll on the City of Troy when it was destroyed. The ‘Cassandra Syndrome’ is named after the tragic heroine Cassandra. Close X

American slaves were not supposed to include the oath “Till Death do us apart” in their weddings as the plantation master had the rights to separate them. They didn’t have any Christian ceremonial marriage, thus developed their own ceremony where the bride and the groom jumped over a broom symbolizing home in some parts of Africa. Close X

Edmond Dantès, a fictional character in the world famous novel ‘The Count Of Monte Cristo’ by Alexandre Dumas was framed and imprisoned. His imprisonment separated him and his beloved and fiancée Mercedes for 14 years. Close X

In Medieval times, girls ate unusual foods on St Valentine's Day to make them dream of their future husband. Close X

Over 100 years ago, the Chicago post office refused to deliver about 25,000 Valentine postcards as their messages were not nice. The cards were called “vinegar Valentines”. Close X

Romeo and Juliet, two fictional lovers in a Shakespearean novel died for the sake of love. In Verona, hundreds of letters are still addressed to Juliet. Close X

Relics of Saint Valentine are at the Church of Saint Praxed in Rome, and at Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland. Close X

About 1 billion Valentine’s cards are exchanged each year—that is, second only to Christmas. Close X