Why charity Valentines Cards are so important
In the greeting card industry, spring time represents a very busy period. Occasions such as Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day occur during this time of year. According to the UK greeting card industry, spring season accounts for 11% of total annual greeting card sales which are worth an estimated £154.2 million to the greetig card sector.
Mintel, the consumer analysts, in their latest greeting card report tell us that 1 in 5 greeting card senders prefer to send a charity card whenever they can. However, every day charity cards are not as accessible as charity Christmas cards… until now!
At charitygreetings.com, people who like to give to charity, like you, are able to support their favourite causes throughout the whole year. With Valentine’s Day one of the most important dates in the greeting card calendar, charities can benefit from valentines card sales. Of course, you can also send birthday cards, anniversary cards, get well cards, good luck cards, engagement cards and wedding cards, to name just a few occasions.
The UK Greeting Card Association, in their latest market report, state the average person spends £2.17 on Valentines cards. Of all the occasions tracked, Valentine’s Day generated the highest average greeting card spend. This is not surprising as individuals like to spoil and show they care for their partners during Valentine’s Day. This is why they are happy to spend that little bit extra. They should, of course, show they care throughout the rest of the year too… and sending a special Valentine’s card with a heartfelt message goes a long way these days.
If £2.17 is the average spend on Valentines cards and 1 in 5 Valentine’s Day greeting card senders to send charity card, it could be estimated that 43 pence of each £2.17 Valentine’s Day greeting card purchased and sent could help a number of UK charities.
With millions of valentines cards being sent during this period, that could be a substantial chunk of funds raised for charities. Would you consider sending charity valentines cards?
Charity Valentines Cards | CharityGreetings.com
You can send your valentines cards from charitygreetings.com and support your favourite charity. There are hundreds of charities listed on charitygreetings.com. Should a charity you would like to support not be listed, simply get in touch with us and would be happy to add them so you can support them.
There are over 150 valentines cards you can choose from with more valentines cards added every day. There are specific sub Valentine categories such as:
Boyfriend Valentines Cards
Girlfriend Valentines Cards
Husband Valentines Cards
Wife Valentines Cards
Humorous / Funny Valentines Cards
Sweet and Cute Valentines Cards
Romantic Valentines Cards
Naughty Valentines Cards
Valentines Card Designs| CharityGreetings.com
Here are some examples of valentines cards designs you can choose from:
Boyfriend Valentines Cards
A selection of Valentines Cards for your boyfriend:
 
Girlfriend Valentines Cards
A selection of Valentines Cards for your girlfriend:
 
Husband valentines cards
A selection of Valentines Cards for your husband:
 
Wife Valentines Cards
A selection of Valentines Cards for your wife:
 
Humorous / Funny Valentines Cards
A selection of Funny Valentines Cards:
 
Sweet and Cute Valentines Cards
A selection of Valentines Cards:
 
Romantic Valentines Cards
A selection of Romantic Valentines Cards:
 
Naughty Valentines Cards
A selection of Naughty Valentines Cards:
 
Valentines Cards | The history of Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day is held every year on 14th February. It is a global phenomenon celebrated everywhere throughout the world. It is an occasion that celebrates the between two individuals. Often boyfriend – girlfriend, husband- wife, between partners or simply just between secret admirers.
Valentine’s Day is actually a shortened version of Saint Valentine’s Day. Saint Valentine was one of many Christian martyrs during the time of Pope Gelasius I during approximately 496 AD. Valentine was the main popular amongst many Christian martyrs at this time, and Saint Valentine is not just one person.
Valentines which honoured on Valentine’s Day are:
Valentine of Terni – Bishop of Interamna who was martyred by Emperor Aurelian
Valentine of Rome - a Roman priest who was martyred in AD 269
Although, it is not know which Valentine this historical fact is written about, it said that Saint Valentine was persecuted because he was Christian by the Roman emperor Claudius II. Saint Valentine was actually interrogated by Claudius II himself.
Claudius II tried to get Saint Valentine to convert to Roman paganism, whilst at the same time Saint Valentine tried to get Claudius II to convert to Christianity. An incredibly brave thing to do a man in his circumstances which eventually led to his execution.
It is written, that just before Saint Valentine’s execution for miracle healing the blind daughter of his jailer. A loving act performed before his death. A real sentiment of love.
Where is the link between Saint Valentine and love?
The Roman Emperor Claudius II did not allow young men to be married and insisted they remain single as he thought this would grow his army and make his men better soldiers. After all, if you soldiers were not married they would not have other people to think about care about other than the other soldiers in the regiments.
Saint Valentine did not agree with this law and performed secret marriage ceremonies for the young soldiers. Claudius II eventually found out about this and had Valentine arrested.
And thus began, the link between Saint Valentine and love.
Valentines Cards | Modern Day Designs
Many valentine cards designs these days depict heart shaped graphics, Cupid, cute pictures of animals (often cats and dogs), doves symbolising peace, popular licensed characters such as Vimrod being adapted to suit Valentine’s Day, typography with special romantic messages, photography showing romanticized couples, and of course Valentine’s Day poems.
Valentines Cards | Valentines Day Poems
Valentine’s Day is synonymous with romance and love. Is there a better way to express your love them a valentines day poem?
It was the writer Geoffrey Chaucer whom wrote the first Valentine’s Day poem. This Valentine’s Day poem was in his 1382 book, Parlement of Foules.
He simply wrote, “For this was on seynt Volantynys day. Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make.
The modern-day translation is, “For this was Saint Valentine’s Day, when every bird cometh there to choose his mate.”.
The Valentines Day poem was written as a way to honour the first engagement anniversary between Anne of Bohemia and King Richard II.
In Paris, France during the 15th century, a court of love was established Valentine’s Day. This was the one day of the year when the law courts would deal with anything in relation to couples, marriage and love. For example, any betrayals, violence and marriage annulments.
The judges of these love courts selected by women on the basis on how they read poetry!
One of the earliest mentions of Valentine’s Day in poetic form came from William Shakespeare play Hamlet. Valentine’s Day was mentioned by Ophelia.
This Valentine’s Day poem read (in Act IV, Scene 5):
To-morrow is Saint Valentine’s day,
All in the morning betime,
And I a maid at your window,
To be your Valentine.
Then up he rose, and donn’d his clothes,
And dupp’d the chamber-door;
Let in the maid, that out a maid
Never departed more.
One of the most recognisable Valentines Day poems is found in the 784 book, Gammer Gurton’s Garland.
Recognise it?
The rose is red, the violet’s blue
The honey’s sweet, and so are you
Thou are my love and I am thine
I drew thee to my Valentine
The lot was cast and then I drew
And Fortune said it shou’d be you
Valentines Cards | Fun Valentine’s Day Facts
Here are some fun Valentine’s Day facts that you may find interesting:
Can you believe that women purchase 85% of all Valentine’s Day cards! It makes you wonder, that only 15% of their partners actually return the favour? Wow… There must be many men in the doghouse, on 15th of February! Maybe the greeting card industry should create ‘Dogs House Day’ on 15th February!
Who do you think receive the most Valentine’s Day cards? An educated guess would be wives and husbands… however this is not so true. In fact, teachers are the individuals who received the most Valentines cards! Followed by children, mothers, wives, sweethearts and then… PETS! Lots of schoolgirl in schoolboy crushes! In fact, parents receive 1 in every 5 valentines cards sent!
Talking of pets, it is estimated around 3% of pet owners buy a gift during Valentine’s Day! I wonder if it is the single people that do this?
When you think of a play or film during Valentine’s Day, most people think of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet… a story of love and tragedy. In Verona, Italy where the story of Romeo and Juliet took place, their tourism goes up substantially during Valentine’s Day. In fact, the City of Verona receives approximately 1,000 letters addressed to Juliet every Valentine’s Day. Oh, to be named Juliet and live in Verona… You are guaranteed an excellent Valentine’s Day!
We’ve spoken a lot about Valentines cards, however what about the Valentines rose? 73% of people who buy Valentine’s Day roses are men, and only 27% of those are women. There is a certain tradition to buy a woman a single red rose on Valentine’s Day, rather than the other way round, which is backed up by these statistics.
Why the red rose? The red rose is the favourite flower of the Roman goddess of love and beauty, Venus. And of course, the colour red has strong romantic connotations.
When you think of love and Valentine’s Day, you probably think of Cupid too. Why is Cupid a symbol of love on Valentine’s Day? Cupid is the son of the Goodness Venus. This is why Cupid often pops up during Valentine’s Day with his bow and magical arrows. If you get hit by one of Cupid’s arrows, apparently you fall in love!
The final Valentine’s Day fact is that apparently it was Richard Cadbury who introduced the notion of giving chocolate boxes on Valentine’s Day. This was in 1868. A stroke of genius as this tradition has lasted the test of time and made Cadbury’s a lot of money!
Valentines Cards | Business
Valentine’s Day has been embraced by commercial organisations, as traditionally couples send valentines cards, flowers, chocolates and other romantic gifts during this period. As you can imagine, Valentine’s Day adds millions of pounds revenue to these organisations bottom line.
Valentines Cards | Other days to love
Valentine’s Day is not the only day of the year dedicated to celebrating love. I’m sure many wives and girlfriends say that there are another 364 days that should also be dedicated to celebrating love, and they are right!
There are many other customs across the world that happen this special day.
In some Asian countries, the most money spent in shops on 14th February – Valentine’s Day. This is mainly due to clever marketing as opposed to tradition.
In South Korea, it is only the women who give chocolate to men on Valentine’s Day. It is then the custom for men to give a gift, which is not chocolate, to women one month later on 14th March. South Koreans call this, “White Day”. And if it is not complicated enough, one month after “White Day” comes “Black Day”! On 14th April, any men or women who did not receive anything on 14th February or 14th March go to a restaurant to eat black noodles to symbolise mourning for their single life… I am sure many South Koreans look forward to the 14th April! At least the restaurateurs do well out of it and who knows, maybe some singles actually meet on “Black Day”, whilst eating their black noodles!
We wish you a fantastic Valentine’s Day and hope you send Charity Greetings valentines cards. |
