Valentine’s day is an annual festival to celebrate romance, love, friendship and admiration. Take a look below for 16 interesting and awesome facts about Valentine’s Day.

1. There’s many stories to where Valentine’s Day originated from, but one of the most popular stories dates back to 270 A.D during the reign of Roman Emperor Claudius II. He prohibited marriage because he believed single men made better soldiers.

2. Bishop Valentine ignored the Emperor’s wishes and continued to marry couples in secret until he was caught and thrown in jail for treason – he was executed on the 14th February, which is why we celebrate St. Valentine’s every year.

3. Valentine’s Day is the second most popular day of the year for sending cards with approximately 1 billion Valentine’s day cards sent each year around the world.

4. Approximately 73% of those who buy flowers on Valentine’s Day are men, while only 27% are women.

5. The earliest record of a Valentine’s Day card sent is by The Duke of Orleans who sent a card to his wife whilst he was a prisoner in the Tower of London in the 15th Century.

6. The official saying ‘Wear your heart on your sleeve’ came from a tradition in the Middle ages where men and women would draw names from a bowl to see who would be their Valentine – They would then wear the piece of paper on their sleeve for a week.

7. In Finland, they celebrate Ystävänpäivä on Valentine’s Day which translates into ‘Friends Day’. It’s all about celebrating with your friends rather than with your partner.

8. Valentine’s Day also doubles up as Singles Awareness Day on the 15th of February.

9. At least 9 million people buy their pets a gift on Valentine’s Day.

10. In Japan, only women buy gifts on Valentine’s Day. It’s traditional for single women to reveal who they fancy by giving them a small chocolate gift.

11. In the UK, people celebrating Valentine’s Day spend on average £28.45 each, while in the USA, the average person spends around £172 for the occasion.

12. Most florists will increase the cost of their flowers, especially roses by approximately 30% during the week leading up to Valentine’s Day.

13. Traditionally the ‘x’ symbol we use to indicate a kiss is believed to have its origins in the medieval times- where individuals not allowed to write their names would write an ‘x’ and then kiss it.

14. More than 35 million boxes of heart-shaped boxes of chocolate are sold across Valentine’s Day each year. Now that’s a lot of chocolate!

15. Apparently, teachers always end up receiving the most Valentine’s day cards.

16. There are over 200,000 wedding proposals on Valentine’s Day globally.