U.S. Census Bureau Facts for Features: Valentine's Day 2012: Feb. 14
22.05.12
/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Expressing one's love to another is a celebrated custom on Valentine's Day; whereby sweethearts and family members present gifts to one another, such as cards, candy, flowers and other symbols of affection. Opinions differ as to who was the original Valentine, but the most popular theory is that he was a clergyman who was executed for secretly marrying couples in ancient Rome. In A.D. 496, Pope Gelasius I declared Feb. 14 as Valentine Day. Esther Howland, a native of Massachusetts, is given credit for selling the first mass-produced valentine cards in the 1840s. The spirit continues today with even young children exchanging valentine's cards with their fellow classmates.
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Candy
1,177 Number of U.S. manufacturing establishments that produced chocolate and cocoa products in 2009, employing 34,252 people. California led the nation in the number of chocolate and cocoa manufacturing establishments, with 135, followed by Pennsylvania, with 111. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns: 2009, NAICS code (31132) and (31133), http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/
Source: Sacramento Bee