On average, men shell out more than double the money than women do on valentines gifts. Men buy most of the millions of boxes of chocolates and bouquets of flowers given on Valentine's Day. Women purchase approximately 85% of all valentines cards, men purchase 73% of Valentines Day flowers and around 15% of women send themselves valentines flowers. In order of popularity, Valentine's Day cards are given to teachers, children, mothers, wives, sweethearts and pets. About 3% of pet owners will give valentines gifts to their pets.
For some reason the Italian city of Verona receives about 1,000 letters each year addressed to Juliet from William Shakespeare's play. Her admirers seem to have forgotten she dies at the end of the play.
Valentine's Day is banned in Saudi Arabia. The nation has a religious police force that uphold the annual ban with support from the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. Everything related to the holiday is prohibited - chocolates, flowers, gifts, even the colour red. Nothing red can be worn or sold on Valentine’s Day in Saudi Arabia, florists put away their red roses and store owners take down anything that’s red, heart–shaped, or vaguely Valentine’s Dayish. The penalty for defying these orders is the store being shut down. Individuals are also not supposed to wear anything red on Valentine’s Day. If they do, they will be denied entry into school, work, stores wherever they go. The ban is based on Islamic legal ruling against pagan holidays, under order of the religious police.
