Jennings County exchange student Nayara Garriga, shown dining with her parents in her home country of Spain, said a family dinner in a fancy restaurant in Palma, Spain, is her favorite Valentine’s Day memory.
Photo provided
Every year on Feb. 14, which happens to be just around the corner, Valentine’s Day is celebrated worldwide.
Valentine’s Day originated in Rome, a day originally made for celebrating third century St. Valentine. It is now a day filled with love, candy, flowers and gift-giving.
The three most popular gifts on this special day are cards, chocolates, and personalized gifts. The average person spends an average of $175 per person and 20% also get a gift for their pet. Teachers receive the most gifts on Valentine’s Day.
Americans alone send an estimated 145 million cards on Valentine’s Day each year. The very first Valentine’s Day card ever sent was in 1415 by a French medieval duke to his wife.
Over $1 billion worth of chocolate is purchased every year around this time, and 8 billion conversation hearts are manufactured a year.
Over 30% of Americans choose to eat out for dinner on Valentine’s Day, and the most popular food served is steak.
Valentine’s Day did not become a holiday of love and romance until the mid-14th and 15th centuries.
In Wales, they show love by gifting wooden spoons to their significant other. People in Iraq decorate red apples to represent Adam and Eve. In Rome, they pin the name of their crush to their sleeve and wear it around for the day.
Almost 6 million people get engaged on Valentine’s Day. In 2018, 16,000 people were planning to have a wedding on Valentine’s Day.
Nayara Garriga, a Jennings County High School foreign exchange students from Spain, says in her homeland, “Valentine’s Day is recognized, but not a major holiday, like it is here in the United States. My favorite memory from Valentine’s Day is when I went with my parents and had dinner at a fancy restaurant in Palma, Spain. It was such a good day and we enjoyed seafood, which is super common in Spain!”
Many students plan on going on dates or spending time with their friends or families.
Government teacher Charles Woolf said his plans for Valentine’s Day are to go home from teaching and play video games.
Chloe Brookbank is a student at Jennings County High School. Send comments to [email protected].
