19 Delicious Valentine's Day Gifts: Chocolate, Cookies and More Sweets (2024)

FAQs

How many boxes of chocolate are given on Valentine's Day? ›

Approximately 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate are sold each year. Yes, 36 million.

It was Cupid's golden age: The prudish Victorians adored the notion of courtly love and showered each other with elaborate cards and gifts. Into this love-crazed fray came Richard Cadbury, scion of a British chocolate manufacturing family who was responsible for sales at a crucial point in his company's history.

He introduced the first heart-shaped box of chocolates for V-Day in 1861, and today, more than 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolates are sold each year. That's 58 million pounds of chocolate!

Approximately 58 million pounds of chocolate are bought during Valentine's week. 52% of Valentine's Day gift-givers buy candy, making it the most gifted item. 36% of people gift flowers on Valentine's Day. Jewelry is the second most popular gift, with 21% of people opting for it.

Oruch, a University of Kansas English professor, determined that Chaucer was the first to link love with St. Valentine in his 14th-century works "The Parliament of Fowls" and "The Complaint of Mars," notes the Times. Therefore, Oruch claimed, Chaucer invented Valentine's Day as we know it today.

Pink, red, and white are the colors associated with Valentine's Day, and the shelves in supermarkets, stores, and gift shops are flooded with items in these colors.

We've got Richard Cadbury to thank for this. In 1861, he decided to sell heart-shaped boxes of chocolate. This was also the time of the Victorian age when nature and nature-inspired motifs were trendy, and Cadbury adorned his boxes with rosebuds and the Roman god of lov… e, Cupid.

Heart-Shaped Boxes of Chocolates: Richard Cadbury, son of Cadbury founder John Cadbury, created 'fancy' boxes of chocolates to increase sales. He used drawings of his family and Alpine scenes to decorate them. In 1861, he created the first heart-shaped box of chocolates for Valentine's Day.

Richard Cadbury (yes, that Cadbury), chocolate-maker, philanthropist, and (I'm going to go ahead and assume) hopeless romantic, is credited with inventing and marketing the first heart-shaped box of chocolates in 1868.

At the end of the 5th century, Pope Gelasius I forbid the celebration of Lupercalia and is sometimes attributed with replacing it with St. Valentine's Day, but the true origin of the holiday is vague at best. Valentine's Day did not come to be celebrated as a day of romance until about the 14th century.

Why celebrate valentines day? ›

St Valentine's Day is an annual festival to celebrate romantic love, friendship and admiration. Every year on 14 February people celebrate this day by sending messages of love and affection to partners, family and friends.

It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a martyr named Valentine, and through later folk traditions it has also become a significant cultural, religious and commercial celebration of romance and love in many regions of the world.

1. Valentine's Day cards. Although cards are usually given in combination with other gifts like flowers or chocolates, more than 52% of consumers will present their loved ones with a Valentine's Day card. You can score some extra points by personalizing your card with a photo or heartfelt poem.

Americans love their sweets: 2/3 (67%) of consumers surveyed say they typically eat chocolate on Valentine's Day, with 55% consuming 3 or more pieces. 48% of consumers say they typically eat candy hearts, 44% say they consume gummies, and 50% of respondents say they eat cake/cupcakes on Valentine's Day.

Women tend to buy approximately 85% of all the Valentine`s Day cards sold. Valentine`s Day is the second most popular day of the year for sending cards, second only to Christmas. There are approximately 1 billion Valentine`s Day cards exchanged every year in the U.S. alone.