Here's a bouquet of Valentine's Day trivia

February 14, 1996
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(CNN) -- In a world that can be quite cynical at times, romance is still alive as Americans purchase beds of roses and rows of cards for Valentine's Day. And amid the sound of the flutter of cupid's wings, is the faint ring of the cash register.

Roses are red and about $25 bucks

89 million roses, the majority red, will be sold and delivered within a three-day time period.
Valentine's Day is the big time of year for red roses; Mothers' Day means more pastel roses.
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.
Average price of a dozen roses: $25. There's been very little change in the average price of a dozen roses sold nationwide over the last five years.

A $1.75 for your thoughts

About 1 billion Valentine's Day cards are exchanged each year. That's the largest seasonal card-sending occasion of the year, next to Christmas.
One-third of all Valentine cards are accompanied by gifts.
Romantic cards are the best-sellers. Victorian era-influenced cards are prominent this year.
An estimated 25 percent of Valentine's Day cards are humorous
More than 50 percent of cards are sold the week of the holiday, with the largest and most elaborate Valentine cards sold 48 hours before February 14.
70 percent of those celebrating the holiday give a card, followed by a telephone call (49 percent), gift (48 percent), special dinner (37 percent), candy (33 percent) restaurant meal (30 percent), and flowers (19 percent).
Teachers will receive the most Valentine's Day cards, followed by children, mothers, wives, and then, sweethearts. Children ages 6 to 10 exchange more than 650 million Valentine's cards with teachers, classmates, and family members
Humorous valentines of the 19th century were called "Vinegar Valentines" or "Penny Dreadfuls." Vinegar Valentines were introduced in 1858 by John McLaughin, a Scotsman with a New York City Publishing Business. Penny Dreadfuls with comic designs drawn in 1870 by American cartoonists Charles Howard became known as Penny Dreadfuls.
Legend has it that the first valentine was sent by St. Valentine himself on the eve of his execution for refusing to denounce Christianity. Signed "from your Valentine," it was a note of appreciation to his jailer's daughter, who had brought him food and delivered messages.
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.
Revolutionary War days saw the first valentines in the United States. They were handmade, mostly pen and ink drawings.
Valentine's Day has a higher percentage of male buyers than any other seasonal occasion. Fifteen percent of all valentines are purchased by males, compared to most other holidays, in which 90 percent of cards are purchased by women.
80 percent of all Valentine cards are purchased for relatives.

Love can be fattening, but oh, how sweet it is

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Some Valentine's Day legends

February 14, 270 A.D. : Roman Emperor Claudius II, dubbed "Claudius the Cruel," beheaded a priest named Valentine for performing marriage ceremonies. Claudius II had outlawed marriages when Roman men began refusing to go to war in order to stay with their wives.
Another Roman martyr named Valentine was jailed and passed the time by writing love letters to his captor's daughter signed "your Valentine."
During the Middle Ages, Europeans believed that birds chose their mates each year on February 14. Legend has it that Europeans began to emulate the ornithological practice.
In the 17th century, it's believed that lovers began exchanging mementos on Saint Valentine's Day, perhaps heeding the words of Shakespeare's "Hamlet:"."Sweets to the sweet."

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