There are lots of countries who don't celebrate Valentine's Day. Practicing Muslims consider the concept against Islamic Law. The Islamic authorities created the religious ruling of fatwa, banning celebrations of Valentine's day. So that would be Malaysia, Indonesia, Iran, India, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia. I had no idea - living in the "Western World" is bubblesome.
Given that chocolate has a reputation as a love food, it isn't unusual it is part of Valentine's Day. Marie Antoinette brought her personal chocolate maker to Versailles. Known as the official Chocolate Maker to the Queen, he created such recipes as “chocolate mixed with orchid bulb for strength, chocolate with orange blossom to calm the nerves, or chocolate with sweet almond milk to aid the digestion.”
Chocolate producers were creative: Richard Cadbury marketed his chocolate with Cupids and rosebuds on heart-shaped boxes. The boxes were used to keep mementos such as love letters. And the Hershey "kisses" were supposedly named for the smooching noise the chocolate made as it was manufactured. These facts come from the Smithsonian so there's some confidence in the facts - silly as smooching production noises seem.
The biggest spenders on Valentine's Day? Supposedly Singapore. And the biggest Valentine's box of chocolates? On 2 April 2008, confectionery retailer Thorntons and prop-maker Russell Beck Studio created a box of chocolates that towered 5.04 m (16 ft 6 in) tall. It weighed 1,690 kg (3,725 lb).
From the Collection of hearts on my Redbubble site...
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