With Valentines Day quickly approaching, and many of us scrambling to find that right gift and make last-minute reservations, I thought it might be a good time to find out more about the holiday and how it is celebrated. I recently sat down to see what I could find in terms of Valentines Day facts and stats. Here are 10 of the most interesting things about Valentines Day that I was able to dig up.

Enjoy and good luck!

Valentines Day Facts and Stats

First association between love and Valentines Day:

14th century

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First time lovers exchanged flowers, cards, etc on Valentines Day:

18th century

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Amount US consumers are expected to spend on Valentines Day in 2017:

$18.28 billion

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Projected amount spent on Valentines Day per US consumer in 2017:

$136.57 per person

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Projected amount spent on pets for Valentines Day per US consumer in 2017:

$4.44 per person

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Item most given as a gift by US consumers on Valentines Day:

Candy (50% of shoppers)

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Percentage of US adults that plan to celebrate Valentines Day in 2017:

54%

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Number of cards exchanged on Valentines Day:

nearly 150 million cards

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Percentage of flower purchases on Valentines Day that are made by men:

73%

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Year that the Valentines Day box of chocolates made its debut:

1868 (by Richard Cadbury)