FINALLY, "Balentayms" (Valentine's Day) is just a day away. But all we know is that -- besides the fact that it was named after a certain catholic saint -- this day serves as a special time to celebrate romantic love, friendship and admiration.
Hence, I'm so chuffed to share the list of my favorite Valentine's Day facts of all time.
1. On February 14, 2001, 34 couples from 22 countries exchanged wedding vows ten meters underwater in Southern Thailand. Consequently, that day still prides itself for the Guinness World Record for the most number of couples married simultaneously underwater. (Pretty weird but that's literally cool, don't you think?)
2. In 2003, religious activists in India burned Valentine's Day cards. After eight years, Iran banned gifts too such as teddy bears as part of an Islamic republic retaliation against Western culture. (Oh, poor teddies!)
3. (Oh, this one's going to make you a bit envious) In Japan, it's the other way around. Women give chocolates to their boyfriends and male friends on Valentine's Day. However, men do return the favor on March 14, known as 'White Day,' where women are pampered with white chocolates, lingerie and jewelry.
4. There is such a thing as 'SAD or Single Awareness Day' which aims to remind people that they do not need to be in a relationship to celebrate this day.
5. In 2011, the largest chocolate bar mosaic was made in Switzerland. Holding a staggering record with its 18.35 meters height, it was made of 1,500 bars of chocolate.
6. Just like the heart emojis on your smart phone, the flowers given during Valentine's Day have unique meanings. Red roses mean love, yellow roses mean friendship, and pink roses mean sweetheart. While red carnations are for admiration, white carnations mean pure love, red chrysanthemums love, and primrose echos young love.
7. In Germany, young girls would plant onions in a pot on Valentine's Day, and place the name of a boy next to each onion. They believed that they would marry the boy whose name was nearest to the first onion to grow.
8. Young girls in the United States and the United Kingdom believed that they could tell the type of man they would marry based on the type of bird they first saw on this day. A blackbird entails a clergyman, a robin redbreast means a sailor, while a goldfinch means that they would marry a rich man. A sparrow means a farmer, a blue bird is for a happy man, a crossbill an argumentative man and a dove a good man. How about those who would not marry at all? It's a woodpecker.
9. It is said that teachers receive the most Valentine cards, followed by children, mothers and wives. Children ages 6 to 10 do exchange more than 650 million Valentine cards each year.
10. In the Philippines, ever since the government and a big toothpaste brand started the event in 2004, Filipino couples have been gathering by the hundreds to compete for a world record: the most people kissing simultaneously. The kicker? They're being held at shopping malls throughout the country. The feast kicks off at midnight when everyone kisses at once.
Did I miss anything on this list? Let us know!
Stay Active until our next chat!
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