Did You Know…?– Valentine’s Day Edition

Yes, there's a $10-billion gap there. What's that between friends, right? U.S. News believes the average American will spend about $140 on gifts, for a total of $19-billion from the population. Marketwatch thinks they will feel more amorous and spend about $200 each, bringing that total closer to $29-billion. We will have to wait until February 15 to find out. Either way, that's a lot of economic stimulus.

If you don't want to take my word for it, Google it. Teachers get a lot of love on Valentine's Day. Not surprisingly, the real love of parents' lives, their children, came in second. Our rugrats are followed by moms. Next come wives and sweethearts. Bringing up the end of this sub-list is pets. Believe it or not, about nine million people buy gifts for their animal companions.

A big, beautiful bouquet of different colored roses may seem like a wonderful idea. But, according to theflowerexpert.com, you may be saying that you aren't sure how you feel about the person you are sending them to. The message could be, "Hey! I like you, but I'm not sure what that means exactly."

Each rose color has a different meaning: red for love; white for innocence or true love (like at weddings); yellow for friendship; pink for softer emotions (like for a sweetheart) or gratitude; orange for passion or energy; black for death or farewell (I wouldn't recommend this for Valentine's Day).

I'm referring to "X" as in the symbol for kiss. Have you ever wondered how that letter came to stand for a kiss? Truth be told, I thought it was because someone somewhere thought the letter looked like an actual pucker. That's not it at all. In Medieval times, when not many people could sign their names, they did so with the "X." They would then kiss their mark as a sign of sincerity. It's believed that is the reason we use the X as a simple sign for a kiss as in XOXO.

Valentine's Day is also Singles Awareness Day. Whether you choose to believe it is so in order for people who aren't in a romantic relationship to thumb their noses at those who are or to celebrate the fact that singles are perfectly happy in their solitude, it's a chance to get together with other single friends and have fun. As a matter of fact, Finland calls Valentine's Day Ystävänpäivä, which translates to "Friend's Day."

You can even get yourself a gift! Nearly 10% of people buy themselves gifts on February 14 and about 14% of women send themselves flowers. I have no idea how they sign the card, but who really cares?

After all, the person all of us should love first is the one staring back at us in the mirror.