Since we are talking about love on Sunday evenings in March, I was reminded of this Valentine’s Day breakdown from CNN.com that I ran across several years ago. Americans spend quite a bit of money to show their love on Valentine’s Day Here’s a breakdown, by the numbers:- $130.97 — The per person average estimated amount that people spend on Valentine’s Day
- 224 million — The estimated number of roses grown for Valentine’s Day
- 51% — The percentage of people who buy red roses for this holiday
- 64% — The percentage of men who buy flowers for Valentine’s Day
- 36% — The percentage of women who buy flowers for Valentine’s Day
- $18.6 billion — The total spending that is reached by Valentine’s Day
- $1.6 billion — The amount people spend on candy
- $1.9 billion — The amount people spend on flowers
- $4.4 billion — The amount people spend on diamonds, gold and silver
And one of the best statistics: there are 1400 varieties of Valentine’s cards available at Hallmark. 1400 ways to express love. As eloquent as Hallmark may be, we looked at the best description of love last week in 1 Corinthians 13 and it has little to do with the kind of romance we find in cards.
Love is foundational to our relationships. It gives meaning to our actions. It teaches the world around us about the God we serve. Best of all, you do not need to spend $130.97 today to show God’s love to the people you meet. It can be freely given and still holds immeasurable value.
Brian