Valentine’s Day: 1 billion cards
A card by Esther Rowland Courtesy Mount Holyoke College
How many valentines did you receive this year? How many did you send?
Some 190 million valentines are sent each year, according to the US Greeting Card Association. If you count the cards made by schoolchildren, it goes up to 1 billion. And, in 2010, some 15 million e-valentines were sent!
The American tradition of sending valentines was the idea of Esther Rowland (1828-1904), a young graduate of Mount Holyoke College (Massachusetts).
Holyoke's archives and special collections has an impressive collection of historic valentines, many created by Esther. She is credited with having established the commercial valentine industry in the US.
The school’s original name was the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, and Esther graduated in 1847. She was inspired by an ornate English valentine - sent by a family friend – to create her elaborate versions of the greeting card.
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Valentine’s Day: Your Stories
Millions around the world will send flowers, write love letters and say "I love you" to their families, significant others and spouses to mark Valentine's Day today.
We each have our own romantic stories. Whether a first love, a first kiss or discovering a secret admirer, these stories are memorable moments.
At MyHeritage, we know how important family and love are in our lives. Last week, we asked you to send in romantic stories of proposals, marriage and love from your unique family history.
Here we share a few of our favorites on this special day:
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Valentine’s Day: Love stories to share?
Antique Valentine's Card Image credit: Wikipedia
For thousands of years, lovers have expressed their admiration in a variety of mediums, but nothing compares to the classic love letter.
The greatest love story is not from the movies or a book, but our own lives! MyHeritage would like to hear your personal and family tales of romance.
Love stories are not necessarily a typical Cinderella tale or a Romeo-and-Juliet romantic tragedy. We hear words of endearment in movies, and read them in passionate stories in our favorite novels, yet our own stories are the ones that are timeless pieces of history. They are the ones that are closest to our hearts.
How did you or your ancestors meet? Is there a unique proposal story in your family, or a tale of finding a lost love? Share your story with us, and we will share some of the best in our Valentine’s Day special. Email us at stories@myheritage.com, or leave a comment below, via Facebook, Twitter or Google +.
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Valentine’s Day: Share your love stories
Valentine's Day is 14 days away and millions of couples around the world prepare for the most romantic day in the year.
People also recall how it was celebrated generations ago. They may remember incredible and moving love stories of their own or of their ancestors.
We have all heard the love stories of our grandparents, great-grandparents or other ancestors. These may include a love that was separated or difficult due to distance, historical events, family disagreements or other reasons.
Even though times were much harder, somehow those impossible loves won out, the couple married and their love story lasted until contemporary times.
When I was younger, it was quite an opportunity to listen to some cringe-worthy love stories from my parents. The experience was more of a learning opportunity (as in a whistle-stop tour of how not to let a lady know about your affections).
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