Over $1 billion worth of chocolate is purchased on this romantic day in the U.S.

Every Valentine’s Day, the Italian city of Verona, where Shakespeare’s lovers Romeo and Juliet lived, receives about 1,000 letters addressed to Juliet.

220,000 is the average number of wedding proposals on Valentine’s Day each year.

189 million stems of roses are sold in the U.S. on this day.

15 percent of U.S. women send themselves flowers on Valentine’s Day.

Richard Cadbury produced the first box of Valentine chocolates in the late 1800s.

Teachers receive the most Valentine’s Day cards, followed by children, mothers, wives, sweethearts and pets.

In 1537, England’s King Henry VII officially declared Feb. 14 the holiday of St. Valentine’s Day.

In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who would be their Valentine. They would wear this name pinned onto their sleeves for one week for everyone to see. This was the origin of the expression “to wear your heart on your sleeve.”

Many believe the X symbol became synonymous with the kiss in medieval times. People who couldn’t write their names signed in front of a witness with an X. The X was then kissed to show their sincerity.

About 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged each year. This makes it the second largest seasonal card sending time of the year.