Amazing-but-True Facts

• In the Tahitian language, "valen tine" is an extremely vulgar expression.
  
  
• Although a common practice now, John Wilkes Booth's brother, Edwin, was the first known actor to send a Valentine card to himself.
  
  
• To celebrate being the most romantic city on Valentine's Day, couples in Loveland, Colorado, trade Broncos jerseys for the day.
  
  
• Franklin D. Roosevelt spent every one of his 13 Valentine's Days as president of the United States tooling around the White House in his wheelchair completely naked.
  
  
• When broken down into its basic elemental components, love, in fact, actually does stink.
  
  
• In some remote mountain villages in the Romagna-Campanile region of Italy, Valentine's Day is still celebrated by the ancient Roman lottery in which each teenage boy draws the name of a teenage girl who will be his sex partner for the rest of the year.
  
  
• In Rome around the time of Tiberius, children were taught archery from a young age, and for sport, some would sneak naked into bath houses and shoot people with their toy arrows. This was the origin of "Cupid" -- Latin for "accursed child."
  
  
• On February 14, 1933, Al Capone's widow started an ultimately unsuccessful petition to have the St. Valentine's Day Massacre downgraded to a "public disturbance."
  
  
• Infamous cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer superstitiously avoiding eating heart on Valentine's Day.
  
  
• The phrase "Friends, Romans, countrymen" is an example of "copulative asyndenton" (coincidentally an anagram of "Valentine's Day Cop-out"), which is how Mark Antony's February 14th speech was characterized by those still loyal to Julius Caesar.
  
  
• An old Ukrainian custom dictates that women make sachets out of lovers' flowers after Valentine's Day. So the women who leave their men after Valentine's Day even after receiving such gifts are said to "come out smelling like a rose."
  
  
• Hallmark this year launched a new line called "the Brokeback Collection" for gay lovers.
  
  
• Satanists traditionally celebrate St. Valentine's Day by sacrificing one live kitten for each date who turned them down during that year.
  
  
• The St. Valentine's Day Massacre originally was scheduled for January 5, but nobody could spell St. Telesphorus, so they rescheduled it.
  
  
• The caloric intake from 50 cinnamon candy hearts provides precisely the calories needed to sign and seal one valentine card.
  
  
• "Simpsons" creator Matt Groening got his start drawing loveable animals on children's valentine cards.
  
  
• Ovaltine was originally marketed as Ovalentine, "the elixir of love." In 1930, when it began sponsoring "Little Orphan Annie," the name was slightly altered at the request of church groups anxious to avoid any nasty sexual connotations.
  
  
• In 18th-century Italy, it was customary to cut out your lover's heart upon his or her death and carry it with you one day for every year you were together.
  
  
• Unsold Valentine's Day heart candies are sold as chalk to Third-World schools.
  
  
• Roses were traditionally brought to duels in the middle ages by onlookers as a gift to console the widow of the fight's loser.
  
  
• In colonial America, it was believed that saying "Happy Valentine's Day" backwards 10 times while copulating would ensure that your next offspring would be male.
  
  
• Candy and flowers have dropped to positions #2 and #3 as favorite Valentine's Day gifts. Position #1 is now occupied by video disks.
  
  
• Former Major League Baseball manager Bobby Valentine was born on Valentine's Day.
  
  
• In 1946, after seeing one of her films, the crown prince of the Congo once sent actress Shirley Temple a gift of 70 head of cattle.
  
  
• Despite common lore, Valentine's Day was not named after St. Valentine, but the great-great-grandfather of Rudolph Valentino, a poet.
  
  
• On a molecular level, red roses and a pint of type AB-negative blood are the same exact color.
  
  
• The practice of giving fresh-cut flowers to one's beloved is a modern-day replacement for the traditional gift of fresh-killed game animals.
  
  
• In early days, locksmiths charged half price on Valentine's Day for making duplicate keys for chastity belts.
  
  
• The most popular brand of candy hearts is actually made with a mixture of 90% sugar, 5% artificial flavoring and 5% gunpowder. If laid on a flat, hard surface and stomped on, they "explode" just like cap-gun rounds.
  
  
• If said in the correct tone and cadence, "Be my Valentine" played backwards sounds exactly like "Butt-love is in."
  
  
• Fearing the country was becoming too violent, President Chester Arthur declared Valentine's Day would replace Knife-Fight Day.
  
  
• The daisy, not the rose, is the biggest-selling flower on Valentine's Day, according to the National Flower Association.
  
  
• The tradition of giving chocolate hearts was started in 1255 by the Duke of Hershey, who murdered his wife's lover and presented her with his heart on a platter with an assortment of fine candies.
  
  
• In Wisconsin, sodomy is legal for the 24 hours of Valentine's Day.
  
  
• Use of the heart to symbolize affection originated with the ancient Egyptians. After removal of all internal organs in preparation for mummification, pharaohs' hearts were given to their widows as a last expression of earthly devotion.
  
  
• Among the findings of the 9/11 Commission was that a young Osama bin Laden received no valentines as a third-grader in a London prep school.
  
  
• Schlitz has been the "Official Beer of Valentine's Day" since 1982.
  
  
• Windows XP users who create a user name "billg" then play 214 games of FreeCell on February 14 will be treated to a slide show from Bill and Melinda Gates' wedding.
  
  
• Actor Vin Diesel has been selected as Mr. Valentine of 2006 by the town of Valentine, Wyoming.
  
  
• Candy hearts were originally candied hamster hearts that were dried, cut and stamped.
  
  
• The average red rose contains 38 calories. White roses have only 26.
  
  
• "Will you be my Valentine?" has traditionally been at the low end of the sexual harassment scale, but in recent years has moved up quickly among easily-offended women.
  
  
• Valentine's Day cards were invented by an out-of-work newspaper obituary writer who hung out at the back exit of a brothel with a camera.
  
  
• On 2/14/00, 214 people bled to death from injuries attributed to rose thorns.
  
  
• There are more fatalities on Valentine's Day from cardiac arrests -- i.e., broken hearts -- than any other single cause.
  
  
• Although the human heart is not actually "heart-shaped," its valves are, to allow blood to flow in only one direction.
  
  
• The real-life third-century St. Valentine was notorious for his forays into bestiality.
  
  
• A box of holiday chocolates, one of which contained a de-legged, living roach, was a popular parlor amusement of French aristocrats.
  
  
• A recent survey showed that marriages in which both partners vote Democrat tend to last 4.3 years less on average than those in which at least one partner votes Republican.
  
  
• During WWII, British spies occasionally used small bags of candy hearts to pass secure information, using the sayings and color of the hearts to add layers of encryption.
  
  
• The poison most likely to have been dispensed to Romeo by an apothecary of that time was "tincture of wormwood," which has the same exact fragrance as a combination of roses and chocolate.
  
  
• February 14 (2/14) was chosen as the date to celebrate Valentine's Day because it symbolizes "TWO become ONE FOR-ever."
  
  
• The symbol of the heart for Valentine's Day and love came from an old Visigoth ritual of eating the hearts of one's enemies to gain virility.

Sweets for Your Sweetheart

Candy recipes and other sweet treats for Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is quite an event in the South! Heart shaped cookies, petit fours, and cakes and pies with "I Love You" written in icing are filling the aisles at the local grocery stores.

The color, flavor, and smell of food all play an important part in a successful romantic meal. The Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago discovered that kitchen smells, like cinnamon buns, doughnuts, and pumpkin pie, may be more powerful than the finest perfume! Other aromas with positive effects were vanilla, strawberries, lavender, and black licorice.

The authors of "Food As Foreplay" say it all in this excerpt: "...an aphrodisiac isn't something you buy from a gnarled old woman who lives in a tree. It is the resonance, tone, timbre that YOU bring to cooking.

Love radiates from your heart, seeps into the food and gives it the mystical quality that ignites the soul. The real aphrodisiac is you."

Whether you're serving an elegant meal or everyone's favorite spaghetti or pizza (heart-shaped), do it with some candles, good wine or champagne if you like, and a loving smile!

Throwing a Teen Valentine's Day Party

Your teenager wants to throw a Valentine's Day party, are you up for the challenge? Here are a few games, crafts, ideas and tips to make it fun and safe.

• Make sure you make all rules clear from the very beginning
• Establish a list of who is invited and how many are allowed to come. Allow very few exceptions to these list should things change a couple of days before the party. Allow no excepts the day of the party.
• Do not hold an 'open house'. If your teen's friends are coming for the party, they should stay until the end of the party. And 'party crashers' normally start trouble.
• Dimming the lights is ok to do, but shutting them off is a no-no. Try using white Christmas lights strung around the room, with more lighting at the food table.
• No drinking or drugs should be permitted.
• Say it loud and clear, you will call the parents, (or the police should things get out of hand), to pick them up should they show up drunk, or should they bring alcohol to the party.
• Establish that you more than welcome other parents calling you about the party and they can come too. This is a great way to meet the parents of your teenager's peers, and get some help at the party.
• Don't hover, but do make frequent trips to the food table to refresh the chip bowl.

Valentine's Day Gift Baskets

Valentine's day is probably one of the most romantic days that couples treasure every year. That is why during this occasion, different kinds of Valentine gifts are available to make the occasion more memorable. So, if you are also thinking of giving one to your special someone, then you should include Valentine's Day gift baskets on your list.

Valentine's day gift baskets are one of the most popular gift ideas that lovers often give to their special someone during Valentine's Day. Although flowers are the most expressive gifts to give, still nothing can compare to a nice combination of flowers and a gift basket that is full of assorted goodies like chocolates. Most women love to receive chocolates from their boyfriend or husband during Valentine. So after you have ordered a unique bouquet of roses, you can also look for a perfect chocolate gift basket to go with it.

Where to find Valentine's Day gift baskets?

There are lots of local gift shops that offer a wide selection of gift baskets for various occasions. You can simply check the directory or ask a friend or relative who have already tried buying one. However, you don't have to stick to one option. You can always make a list before choosing where to buy the exact gift basket that you like.

But if you want more convenience, why don't you check the Internet? There are so many online gift stores that now offer a large selection of Valentine's Day gift baskets. This is more convenient since you won't have to leave the comfort of your home or office just to order the gift basket that you need. By simply looking at the options, you can already come up with a buying decision and place your order online without so much hassle.

The Internet has really made it so easy for you to find the perfect gift basket to give to your special someone during Valentine's Day. So, you should take advantage of this great option and enjoy the benefits.

Valentines Day Night

When the day of Valentines comes, it allows you to show your special someone just how much you care about them. The most usual and effective of Valentine's Day gifts to make yourself are portraits of your beloved. This Valentine's Day gift that you can make yourself very popular with your beloved if you do it right.

If you're looking for a way to make Valentines Day extra special, cook a special recipe just for him or her. Even if something screws up, just the atmosphere and the obvious effort you put into it should be enough to charm. If your cooking fails, order a pizza. If you are used to cooking, then the cooking will be the easy part.

It is the atmosphere of the dining room that makes or breaks this Valentine's Day gift you make yourself. You need fancy clothes, soft music (whether classical or Barry White - or classical Barry White), flowers, a nice clean tablecloth, a clean or at least neat dining room and a bottle of champagne or wine if both of you are allowed to drink alcohol.

The effect of this Valentine's Day gift that you make yourself is generally favorable. It says, "I think you are so special that I went out of my mind cleaning and cooking and wearing clean clothes just to make you happy." You want to turn your home into a somewhat starred restaurant with the sole focus being the beloved. Foods known to be aphrodisiacs include asparagus, cucumber, vanilla, oysters and chocolate (not all together, though).

A Day for Lovers

Valentine's Day a holiday honoring love and lovers, is celebrated on February 14th each year. "The traditional day on which lovers in certain cultures let each other know about their love, commonly by sending Valentine's cards, gifts and sweets" is how Wikipedia describes this magical holiday. An estimated one billion Valentine cards are sent each year, according to the History Channel.

Valentine's Day has roots in several different legends that have found their way to us through the ages. In the Poor Robin's Almanac in 1765, a beautiful verse was printed regarding the month of February, "this month bright Phoebus enters Pisces. The maids will have good store of kisses, for always when the fun comes there, Valentine's Day is drawing near. And both the men and maids incline to choose them each a Valentine.

If a man gets one he loves, he gives her a pair of gloves sealing the favor with a kiss." Throughout history, Valentine's Day has been celebrated as the day when the first works in the vineyards and on the fields commence. This much is for sure, as we know it today, it contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition and has now turned into a day of celebrating love all across the world.

Love is the most beautiful and surreal feeling in the world. Valentine's Day is the perfect time to express your heart's desires and feelings to your soul mate. However, Valentine's Day has expanded into showing love for all your loved ones. Family, friends, classmates, and co-workers appreciate a token expressing the love shared with them, just as much as a sweetheart would.

Essentially, it is a time for loving and giving. Valentine's Day gifts can be difficult, but with a little planning and insight into your loved one's preferences, you can find that special someone a memorable, personalized gift this year. Gift your sweetheart something personalized and show that love is not just about the present, but also about the moments you have shared together. Personal Treasures, an on-line store, prides themselves on providing Valentine's Day gifts that touch the heartstrings and relive those unforgettable moments.

Valentine's Day Poem

What ideas can I think of?
This Valentine's Day?
To make you happy.
To make you feel more of my love.
For I don't know, where are you?

What gift can I give you?
Chocolates, a jewelry piece, or a cute teddy bear?
On the Valentine's Day.
For I don't know, where are you?

What can I talk with you?
What shall I hear from you?
On the Valentine's Day.
For I don't know, where are you?

Who shall I tell about my worries?
With who do I share my thoughts?
With who shall I share my goals?
On the Valentine's Day.
For I don't know, where are you?

Where have you gone?
Why did you go away?
Where do I search for you?
When will you return to me?

My Valentine.
Where ever you are.
Know this much,
that I am mad in love with you.

My heart cries for you.
My eyes search for you.
My soul is empty without you.
For I love you.

When I shall watch,
other lovers.
Meeting on The Valentine's Day.
I will cry over my fate.
I will cry over your absence.
I will cry all alone.
For there shall be no one,
except God to hear my cries.

Honey, I am waiting for you.
Please come back.
Oh, God, let her read this.
Let her know that I am waiting.

Romantic Valentine's Day at Home

A Fireside Picnic Have the sofa pulled up in front of a roaring fire, with some champagne on ice. For an added touch, serve strawberries to bring out the champagne's flavor, or drop pomegranate seeds into the glass to tinge the bubbly pink.
If you're the cooking type, make a home cooked Valentine's Day meal. If not, order out from your favorite place, but be sure to ditch the containers and re plate the meal elegantly on nice plates. Don't forget great music playing on the stereo!

Spa Night. When your sweetie gets home, draw a hot bath filled with rose petals. (Since roses are so expensive around Valentines Day, you can ask your florist for a package of plain rose petals, short stemmed roses, or for "seconds" -- ones that are slightly bruised since you won't be giving them in a traditional way.) Have a glass of wine and some chocolates to nibble on by the side of the bathtub.

Meanwhile, prepare the bedroom. Line the bed with towels fresh out of the dryer so that they're warm. Get a basin full of warm water near the bed, several washcloths and some great spa products. Start off with an ex foliating rub like the

A Sexy Night I know what you're saying. Aren't the above sexy nights? But this one puts sexiness as a top priority. We're not talking instantly hopping in the sack either, but a Valentine's Day full of passion and pampering. Sound good? Here's what you need to do. Start by sending your sweetheart out on an errand and getting them out of the house. (If you don't live together, you're one step ahead.) Meanwhile, turn the lights out in most of the house, and replace the lights in the stairway with low wattage bulbs. If you can't easily change them, don't worry, put a lamp or candles in the stairway instead.

Sprinkle rose petals like a trail of bread crumbs leading from the front door, up the stairs and into the bedroom. Put on something sexy and lay out a sexy outfit for your partner. Ideally this will be a present of something new, but needn't be if you don't have a lot of money. Prepare some aphrodisiac foods that you can feed each other, including almonds, chocolates, dates, raspberries, strawberries and wine. (For that extra touch, a few hours before your date, dip the strawberries in melted chocolate and chill in the fridge.) Fill the bedroom with tons of candles and turn the lights out. Then just wait for your sweetheart.

Not Like it Used To Be

February 14 is Valentine's Day. Although it is celebrated as a lovers' holiday today, with the giving of candy, flowers, or other gifts between couples in love, it originated in 5th Century Rome as a tribute to St. Valentine, a Catholic bishop.

For eight hundred years prior to the establishment of Valentine's Day, the Romans had practiced a pagan celebration in mid-February commemorating young men's rite of passage to the god Lupercus. The celebration featured a lottery in which young men would draw the names of teenage girls from a box. The girl assigned to each young man in that manner would be his sexual companion during the remaining year.

In an effort to do away with the pagan festival, Pope Gelasius ordered a slight change in the lottery. Instead of the names of young women, the box would contain the names of saints. Both men and women were allowed to draw from the box, and the game was to emulate the ways of the saint they drew during the rest of the year. Needless to say, many of the young Roman men were not too pleased with the rule changes.

Instead of the pagan god Lupercus, the Church looked for a suitable patron saint of love to take his place. They found an appropriate choice in Valentine, who, in AD 270 had been beheaded by Emperor Claudius.

Claudius had determined that married men made poor soldiers. So he banned marriage from his empire. But Valentine would secretly marry young men that came to him. When Claudius found out about Valentine, he first tried to convert him to paganism. But Valentine reversed the strategy, trying instead to convert Claudius. When he failed, he was stoned and beheaded.

During the days that Valentine was imprisoned, he fell in love with the blind daughter of his jailer. His love for her, and his great faith, managed to miraculously heal her from her blindness before his death. Before he was taken to his death, he signed a farewell message to her, "From your Valentine." The phrase has been used on his day ever since.

Although the lottery for women had been banned by the church, the mid-February holiday in commemoration of St. Valentine was still used by Roman men to seek the affection of women. It became a tradition for the men to give the ones they admired handwritten messages of affection, containing Valentine's name.

The first Valentine card grew out of this practice. The first true Valentine card was sent in 1415 by Charles, duke of Orleans, to his wife. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London at the time.

Cupid, another symbol of the holiday, became associated with it because he was the son of Venus, the Roman god of love and beauty. Cupid often appears on Valentine cards.

Valentine's Day Cards

Finding the perfect Valentine’s Day card can take time. There are plenty to choose from, but for that special someone you want the card to be perfect from the cover to the writing style to what the words have to say. The isles of Valentine’s Day cards can get crowded in the days leading up to Valentine’s Day, so try to search for your card early. This will give you plenty of time to read through them without fighting the crowd.

Valentine’s Day cards come in many colors and sizes. I have seen some very small ones that fit into a wallet. These are a great way to surprise the man in your life. Slip one into his wallet and when he opens it on Valentine’s Day, he will find it waiting for him. Most are the standard card size. There are some that are so huge, you have to open them on a table top!

The perfect Valentine’s Day card is going to depend on where you are in a relationship. You definitely don’t want one that professes undying love for someone you have only dated a few times. However, you don’t want to sell a long term relationship short by giving a casual Valentine’s Day card. Both men and women love getting a quality card that is from the heart.

If you want to be more original, create your own Valentine’s Day card. There are several online websites that allow you to choose the cover and choose the writing script. You can then choose from one of their verses for the inside or write your own. This is a wonderful way to create the perfect Valentine’s Day card that says exactly what you want. Make sure you order your card early. This ensures it will arrive in time as well as let you review it for errors prior to the arrival of Valentine’s Day. You can also create your own at home with construction paper, glitter, and any other craft supplies you want to use.

Valentine’s Day cards are often treasured items by the recipient as they are a thoughtful gesture of love that comes from the heart. Regardless what type of Valentine’s Day card you choose to give, take the time to make sure it is an honest reflection of your true feelings.

Valentines Day Flowers

Flowers have long been a coveted and integral aspect of Valentine’s Day traditions. Ever since the advent of Valentine’s Day festivities, flowers have symbolized the essence of the day. On this special day, whether it is a single flower or a garland, the sole expression reflected is the message of love.

History reveals that the tradition of giving flowers on St. Valentine's Day first became popular in the seventeenth century with the introduction of “the language of flowers” (Persian poetical art) to the west by Charles II of Sweden. During those days, flowers were amongst the most common ways to communicate non-verbal messages of love or friendship.

The conventional significance endorsed with the rose synchronizes Goddess Venus’s favorite flower with Valentine’s Day. Moreover, the symbolic connotation of love, romance, and passion associated with the rose qualifies it as the preferred choice for St. Valentine's Day.

Roses symbolize love, but their many colors have special meanings. While the red rose remains the ultimate symbol of romantic love and enduring passion during Valentine’s Day, other colors of the day—namely white, pink, and yellow—also merge with the meaning of the roses. For instance, white roses reflect purity of the mind and pink roses signify fun and happiness. A yellow rose on Valentine’s Day connotes friendship.

Other flowers also color Valentine’s Day with their fragrance. A posy flamboyant amaryllis and red lilies could be a wonderful way to communicate greetings for Valentine’s Day. Scented white tuberoses and sunflowers that spell admiration and adulation are also well in tune with the sentiments of the day.

Flowers for Valentine’s Day reveal the unraveled emotions, which often cannot be expressed through words. Nowadays, flashy and ostentatious gifts are the priorities for the day, however this in no way undermines the significance of flowers. The legacy of generations to make the most of nature’s bountiful flora to convey the sentimental finesse that adorns the day reiterates the strong bonding between flowers and Valentine’s Day.

Valentine Flowers Are For Lovers & Friends

Valentine flowers are such a nice way to acknowledge those you love. Often Valentine flowers are sent to those who are married, engaged or in love. But these aren’t the only reasons to send Valentine flowers. If you are married, engaged or in love giving Valentine flowers is always a good idea. This is one holiday when florists are always busy and have many orders.

You can also send Valentine flowers to your parents, grandparents, favorite aunt or uncle or even the kids. It is the perfect time to remember the people you love.

It’s a good time to thank people, too. Think about all the people in your life that you would like to thank. Maybe it’s a coworker or boss, special friend or teacher.

Valentine flowers will brighten the day for those residing in care facilities. If you have a friend or relative in the hospital you may want to consider Valentine flowers.

There are many choices when you want to send Valentine flowers. Roses are always a favorite but you might want to choose tulips, lilies, orchids or a stunning combination of exotic flowers.

You can choose from many different containers for your Valentine flowers. There are vases, baskets, bowls and more. There are also other gifts that can be added to the bouquets. You might want to choose candy, a stuffed animal, candles, ceramic figurines or balloons.

If you would like to send Valentine flowers to someone you will want to place your order several days before Valentine’s Day. When you do this you will have a good selection and make sure that the flowers can be delivered by Valentine’s Day.

There is more than one place to order Valentine flowers. You can go to a local florist. Your local florist will be able to design a Valentine flower bouquet for you.

Grocery stores often have floral departments. You can get your Valentine flowers at the same time you pick up a few groceries. If you happen to wait a little too long to have your Valentine flowers delivered you may be in luck at the grocery store, if they still have any flowers left!

A really convenient way to order Valentine flowers is online. Online sites have excellent choices and you will be able to look at all the Valentine flower arrangements and pick your favorite. You can pay online and the flowers will be delivered when and where you designate.

Don’t forget the Valentine flowers for those you love or care about.