Valentine's Day Traditions and Superstitions

Valentine's Day is not an official holiday, but it is celebrated on February 14 every year, regardless of the day of the week it falls on. The day is recognized in most countries, but Valentine's Day is banned in some countries for religious and cultural reasons.

There are many traditions and superstitions relating to the day. However, those traditions are not the same in every country. While they vary, they are all centered around love and romance.

Valentine's Day: The Most Romantic Day of the Year

Valentine's Day is the most romantic day of the year for most people, but it is dreaded by singles, especially those without a significant other. It is a day when they feel left out because no one gives them chocolates, flowers, gifts, or takes them out to a candlelight dinner.

Valentine's Day Traditions

Cards

Over 1 billion Valentine's Day cards are exchanged in the United States each year. Valentine's Day is the largest seasonal card-sending occasion of the year, next to Christmas.

Giving cards are not reserved just for lovers. They are given to teachers, children, mothers, wives, sweethearts, and even pets. It is estimated that women buy 85 percent of all Valentine's Day cards. In recent years, cards have been sent online. This doesn't make the greeting card stores very happy.

Candies

About $1.7 billion is spent on candy because more than 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate are sold every year. Most of them are bought by men. The average man spends $130 on candy, cards, flowers, jewelry, perfume, and dates. That’s more than double what women are known to spend.

Gifts

Jewelry seems to be the most popular gift. About 20 percent of consumers are expected to buy jewelry. A total of $4.3 billion is usually spent on jewelry nationwide every year.

Flowers

Loved ones often spend $2 billion on flowers. Over 50 million red roses are given for Valentine's Day worldwide each year. The most popular Valentine's Day flowers are red roses. The Society of American Florists estimates that over 250 million roses are produced just for Valentine's Day.

About 73 percent of the people who buy flowers are men. Only 27 percent are women.

Valentine's Day Superstitions

A superstition is a belief in a supernatural causality that doing something will cause something else to happen. Some people believe in superstitions and live according to them.

There are some unbelievable superstitions surrounding Valentine's Day.

• It is said that the kind of bird a girl sees on Valentine's Day is an indication of whom she will marry. If she sees a red bird, she will marry a great lover. If she sees a sparrow, she will marry a poor man. Seeing a blackbird indicates she will marry a clergyman. If she wants to marry a millionaire, she should hope to see a goldfinch. If she sees an owl, she will remain a spinster. Hopefully, she will see a dove, so she will have a happy and peaceful marriage.

• A woman will find out the number of children she will have by counting the seeds in an apple after she cuts it in half.
• The first name people see in the newspaper or hear on the television or radio will be the name of their future spouse.
• Single people will eventually marry the first eligible single they meet on Valentine's Day.
• If a single person pins a sprig of rosemary inside the pillow on the Eve of Valentine's Day, the single person will dream of their future spouse.

Of course, the above list includes superstitions that might not have any merit.