By Alexandra Hulit –

The View –  

Although Valentine’s Day is a special time to celebrate with family, friends and your special someone, the origins of Valentine’s Day are not as sweet.

It all started in Rome. The emperor of Rome at the time, Claudius II, thought unmarried men made the best soldiers and forbid men to marry.

St. Valentine, however, married couples in secret because he didn’t agree with the law. He was imprisoned and ordered to be killed. But while he was in prison, Valentine wrote a letter to the jail-keeper’s daughter who had been visiting him. He signed the letter, “From Your Valentine.” St. Valentine is believed to have been killed on Feb. 14, which is why the holiday is celebrated on that day.

Handwritten Valentine’s Day cards were the tradition until 1847, when a woman named Esther Howland decided to mass-produce them. Now, more than 190 million Valentine’s Day cards are given, but the number skyrockets to 1 billion when cards traded by children in school are included.

Today, more than $448 million is spent on candy the week before Feb. 14. Fifty-eight million pounds of chocolate are bought that week, and 36 million heart-shaped chocolate boxes are sold for the holiday.

Eight billion classic Valentine’s Day conversation candy, Sweethearts, are produced each year for Valentine’s Day. That’s enough candy to stretch from Rome, Italy, to Valentine, Arizona, and back again 20 times. Most are sold between Jan. 1 and Feb. 14.

And on the topic of romantic town names, some include Lovejoy, Ga., and South Heart, North Dakota.

Sixty-two percent of adults celebrate Valentine’s Day. But for those without a date this year, Feb. 14 is also Single Awareness Day.

So, whether you send someone one of the 8 billion Sweethearts sent around the world, or you just buy one for yourself, have a happy Valentine’s Day.