Fascinating Valentine's Day Facts

PART 1: Change the form of the word in parenthesis for it to make sense in the text.

While this popular holiday has become known for its sweet Hallmark cards and ---- (ROMANCE) dinner ideas for two, the history of Valentine's Day is more complicated than that.

If you find yourself wondering about the origins of this February holiday — and its candy-filled traditions — you’ll want to check out these --- (FASCINATE) Valentine's Day facts

1. St. Valentine wasn't just one person.

You may already know that Valentine's Day was named after its patron saint, St. Valentine — but there's actually some --- (CONFUSE) surrounding which St. Valentine the holiday technically honors. According to History.com, there are at least two men named Valentine that could've inspired the holiday, including one Valentine who was a priest in third century Rome and who was killed for marrying couples illegally.

2. At the end of the 5th century, Roman Pope Gelasius ---- (OFFICIAL) declared the date of February 14 "St. Valentine's Day." It wasn't until until the Middle Ages, though, that the holiday became associated with love and romance

3. Cupid can actually be traced all the way back to 700 B.C., to the Greek god of love named Eros, who was actually a handsome, --- (MORTAL) man with the intimidating power to make people fall in love. The Romans adopted Eros into the image of a cute little boy with a bow and arrow, naming him "Cupid."

4. People started ---- (CHANGE) cards and handwritten letters to both lovers and friends during the 17th century, but it was in the 1840s that the first Valentine's Day cards were mass-produced in the U.S.

5. In 2022, people are expected to spend an average of --- (APPROXIMATE) $196 for Valentine's Day, with men spending around $291 compared to women spending $106.

PART II. Think of the word that fits in each space, and write it in the gap. Use ONE word only.

6. Candy and flowers might be some of the most common gifts for Valentine's Day, but according --- the National Retail Federation, the category that we typically spend the most on for February 14 is jewelry, at a whopping $5.8 billion in 2020!

7. The first heart-shaped box was created by Richard Cadbury, son of Cadbury founder John Cadbury, --- started packaging chocolates in fancy boxes to increase sales.

8. In 1866, Daniel Chase started printing sentimental messages on heart-shaped candies, though they were bigger --- the versions we have today — and featured much longer printed sayings and phrases. One of the first messages? "Married in white you have chosen right".