ve it or lump it, Valentine's Day is tomorrow.
 
 
7 Interesting Facts You Probably Don't Know About Valentine's Day
 
[1] Although the origins of Valentine's Day are shrouded in mystery, it's not just a marketing ploy invented by card and candy companies.
 
The most popular theory is that the holiday originated in the time of ancient Rome.
 
Emperor Claudius II didn't want Roman men to get hitched during wartime (I'm guessing newlywed guys weren't eager to rush off to battle), but Bishop Valentine defied the Emperor and performed secret weddings.
 
For his defiance, Bishop Valentine was jailed and sentenced to death.
 
Before his execution he wrote a note of encouragement to his jailor's daughter and signed it “from your Valentine”.
 
[2] Do you have a pet at home?
 
According to retail statistics, about 3 percent of pet owners will give Fido a gift on Valentine's day.
 
[3] Ever heard the expression “to wear your heart on your sleeve”?
 
Here's where it came from:
 
Way back in the Middle Ages, eligible bachelors and bachelorettes drew names from a bowl to see who would be their Valentine.
 
They would then wear the name pinned to their sleeve for a week for the whole world to see!
 
[4] What's with chocolate on Valentine's Day?
 
This:
 
In the 19th-century, doctors commonly advised patients who were suffering from a broken heart to eat chocolate to calm their love sickness.
 
[5] How many cards get exchanged on Valentine's Day? A lot!
 
About 1 billion Valentine's Day cards will be exchanged tomorrow. Making this the second largest seasonal card exchanging time of year. (Christmastime ranks at number one in case you're wondering.)
 
[6] Why roses on Valentine's Day?
 
Because roses were the favorite flower of Venus, the Roman goddess of love!
 
[7] Every Valentine's Day, the Italian city of Verona, where Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers Rome and Juliet called home, receive about 1,000 letters addressed to – you guessed it – Juliet!