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Valentine's Day
Always observed on February 14
| Approximately 152 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged industry-wide (not including packaged kids’ valentines for classroom exchanges), making Valentine’s Day the second-largest holiday for giving greeting cards. |
| In addition to the United States, Valentine’s Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, France, Australia, Denmark, and Italy. |
| Hallmark first offered Valentine’s Day cards in 1913 and began producing them in 1916. |
2010 Product News
- Hallmark offers more than 2,000 Valentine’s Day greeting cards, including 99-cent value cards, Shoebox humor cards, Mahogany valentines for African-American consumers, and Hallmark Sinceramente designs with Spanish and bilingual messages designed for Hispanic consumers.
- Hallmark Gold Crown® stores offer the widest variety of unique and innovative cards including:
- Webcam Greetings with augmented reality technology that come to life with a webcam.
- Video Greetings feature a video screen on the cover of the card. The recipient pushes a button to watch a mini movie, lasting 30-60 seconds.
- DVD Greetings that enable the giver to create a slide show with personal photographs.
- Recordable Cards with or without music that allow the sender to record a 10-second message.
- Hallmark (PRODUCT) RED™ Valentine’s Day cards that help save lives in Africa.
- Cards With Sound that play favorite songs and audio clips from movies and TV shows.
- Cards With Motion that give the illusion of a fully animated two-second scene or 3D image.
- Some of the cards combine technologies, for example sound with motion, sound with lights, and sound with paper mechanics such as pop-up images inside the card.
- Valentines for classroom exchange have evolved from a boxed format to new cello packages. The line includes 10 options in three formats — traditional paper valentines, Magic Motion designs that give the illusion of a fully animated 2-second scene, and deluxe cards that come with a bonus sticker sheet and a large poster. Kids’ favorite characters include JONAS, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Peanuts®, hoops&yoyo™, The Penguins of Madagascar, Wizards of Waverly Place and more.
- Hallmark Gold Crown stores offer a variety of Valentine's Day gifts including animated stuffed animals and Gillham & Grand™ premium chocolates. Valentine gifts such as photo frames, books, novelty gifts and mugs also are available at Hallmark Gold Crown stores.
- Valentine partyware for home, school and office plus stickers and a variety of gift bags, wrap, tissue and add-ons makes one-stop valentine shopping easy.
Holiday History
According to Roman legend, during the third century, Valentinus was imprisoned for his Christian beliefs and sentenced to death. While jailed, according to legend, Valentinus restored the sight of his jailer’s blind daughter. The night before he died, Valentinus wrote a farewell note to the girl, which he signed, “From Your Valentine.” His sentence was carried out the next day, Feb. 14, 269 A.D.
Hundreds of years later in fifth century Rome, people honored Juno, the pagan goddess of love and marriage, on Feb. 14. During the celebration, men would draw women’s names and court them for marriage.
Around 498 A.D., Pope Gelasius declared Feb. 14 as St. Valentine’s Day to honor the martyr Valentinus and to end the pagan celebration.
In 1849, Esther Howland of Worcester, Mass., published the first American valentine.
In Stores
Available at Hallmark Gold Crown® stores nationwide. Use the store locator on Hallmark.com to find the nearest Hallmark Gold Crown store.
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