1 billion Valentine cards sent each year

About one billion Valentine cards are sent each year, according to the History Channel, citing Greeting Card Association statistics. that makes the day the second largest card-sending holidya, next to Christmas, during which 2.6 billion cards are sent. Women account for about 85 percent of all Valentine cards bought. Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages (written Valentine's didn't begin to appear until after 1400), and the oldest known Valentine card is on display at the British Museum. According to the History Channel, the first commercial Valentine's Day cards produced in the US were created in the 1840s by Esther A. Howland, the Mother of the Valentine, who made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons, and colorful pictures known as "scrap." - GMANews.TV