1. In the two week period leading up to Valentine’s Day, American sales of gold jewelry lead to 34 million metric tons of waste.
2. The vast majority of roses sold for Valentine’s Day in the U.S. are imported from South America, wasting fossil fuels.
3. Valentine’s Day traces its roots to an ancient pagan holiday called Lupercalia, in which men stripped naked, grabbed whips, and spanked young women in hopes of increasing their fertility.
4. The Christian martyr St. Valentine was beheaded on February 14 for performing marriages in secret.
5. Research suggests that 75 percent of suicide attempts are attributable to relationship problems and suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States, and approximately 922,725 Americans attempt suicide each year.
6. 67 percent of Americans are overweight or obese, yetwe promote a holiday that is all about excess candy and food.
7. A recent poll found that one in ten young adults admitted to feeling lonely, insecure, depressed, or unwanted on Valentine’s Day. And that’s just the ones that admitted it.
8. Forty percent of people have negative feelings towards Valentine’s Day.
9. The famous St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, in which seven Chicago gangsters were gunned down on February 14, 1929, was one of the bloodiest in mob history (pictured above).
10.More pregnancy tests are sold in March than in any other month, with an estimated 1.16 million abortions that were performed in 2009, 1.13 million were performed in 2010, and 1.06 million in 2011
What's not to celebrate. A holiday that is linked to increase suicide attempts, increased abortions, obesity,wasteful spending by people who are already in debt, increased drunk driving arrests and accident. Geesh I feel like heading out and buying roses, candy hearts, chocolates and wine right now. Lets get this "holiday"going.
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