Megan Moran

Valentine's Day quiz

Love is in the air, so put your heart into this Valentine's quiz! These 20 Valentine's Day trivia questions cover the holiday's history and legends, sweet treats and flowers, and the ways people celebrate around the world, making it perfect for couples, classrooms and family game night.

A free quiz from Megan Moran.

Paper-cut illustration of love letters with wax seals, paper hearts, ribbons and candles
Pick an answer to start20 to go

  1. Question 1 of 20SymbolsEasy

    Which winged Roman god of love is often shown with a bow and arrows on valentine cards?

  2. Question 2 of 20SymbolsEasy

    When someone signs a valentine "XOXO," what does each X stand for?

  3. Question 3 of 20History and legendsMedium

    Which ancient Roman festival in mid-February is often linked to Valentine's Day, although historians have found no solid evidence of a connection?

  4. Question 4 of 20History and legendsHard

    The earliest surviving valentines in English, written in 1477 by Margery Brews, are preserved among the famous letters of which Norfolk family?

  5. Question 5 of 20History and legendsMedium

    According to one popular legend, Saint Valentine secretly married young couples in defiance of a ban by which Roman emperor?

  6. Question 6 of 20Flowers and chocolateEasy

    Which flower is most traditionally given as a symbol of romantic love on Valentine's Day?

  7. Question 7 of 20History and legendsMedium

    Which English poet's "Parliament of Fowls," from the 1380s, contains the first known link between Saint Valentine's Day and romantic love?

  8. Question 8 of 20History and legendsHard

    Charles, Duke of Orléans, wrote what is often called the earliest surviving valentine while a prisoner in England after his capture at which battle?

  9. Question 9 of 20Flowers and chocolateEasy

    Small heart-shaped candies printed with short, sweet messages are commonly known as what?

  10. Question 10 of 20Around the worldMedium

    In Japan, March 14 is a "reply day" when people return the favor to those who gave them Valentine's chocolates. What is it called?

  11. Question 11 of 20History and legendsMedium

    Which Massachusetts businesswoman, later nicknamed "The Mother of the American Valentine," sold some of the first mass-produced valentines in the US?

  12. Question 12 of 20Around the worldHard

    On South Korea's "Black Day," April 14, singles commiserate over noodles in a sauce made from what?

  13. Question 13 of 20Around the worldEasy

    Thousands of letters addressed to Shakespeare's Juliet arrive each year in which Italian city, where volunteers answer them?

  14. Question 14 of 20Around the worldMedium

    In Finland, February 14 is called ystävänpäivä. Who is the day mainly meant to celebrate?

  15. Question 15 of 20History and legendsMedium

    In the Victorian era, what were rude, insulting cards sent anonymously around Valentine's Day called?

  16. Question 16 of 20History and legendsHard

    Besides lovers, Saint Valentine is traditionally a patron saint of which group?

  17. Question 17 of 20Flowers and chocolateEasy

    Chocolate is made from the beans of which tropical tree?

  18. Question 18 of 20Flowers and chocolateMedium

    Which South American country is the largest source of cut flowers imported into the United States?

  19. Question 19 of 20Around the worldHard

    Many people in Wales celebrate their own day of love on January 25, honoring which saint?

  20. Question 20 of 20Flowers and chocolateMedium

    Which British chocolate company produced a heart-shaped box of chocolates for Valentine's Day in 1868?

Answer all 20 to see your score.

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Show all the answers, with the facts behind them
  1. Which winged Roman god of love is often shown with a bow and arrows on valentine cards? CupidHis name comes from the Latin cupido, meaning "passionate desire," and his Greek counterpart is Eros.
  2. When someone signs a valentine "XOXO," what does each X stand for? A kissOne likely origin is the medieval habit of signing documents with a cross to show sincerity, though nobody knows for sure how it came to mean this.
  3. Which ancient Roman festival in mid-February is often linked to Valentine's Day, although historians have found no solid evidence of a connection? LupercaliaIt was a fertility festival held around February 15, honoring the god Faunus and Rome's legendary founders, Romulus and Remus.
  4. The earliest surviving valentines in English, written in 1477 by Margery Brews, are preserved among the famous letters of which Norfolk family? The PastonsMargery wrote them to John Paston while their families were still haggling over her dowry. The impasse was resolved, and the couple married soon after.
  5. According to one popular legend, Saint Valentine secretly married young couples in defiance of a ban by which Roman emperor? Claudius IIHistorians doubt the story: there is no evidence that such a marriage ban was ever issued.
  6. Which flower is most traditionally given as a symbol of romantic love on Valentine's Day? Red roseThis flower belongs to the same plant family as apples, cherries, raspberries and strawberries.
  7. Which English poet's "Parliament of Fowls," from the 1380s, contains the first known link between Saint Valentine's Day and romantic love? Geoffrey ChaucerIn the poem, birds gather on Saint Valentine's Day to choose their mates.
  8. Charles, Duke of Orléans, wrote what is often called the earliest surviving valentine while a prisoner in England after his capture at which battle? AgincourtFound unwounded beneath a pile of bodies, he spent about 25 years as a prisoner in England before his release in 1440.
  9. Small heart-shaped candies printed with short, sweet messages are commonly known as what? Conversation heartsDaniel Chase began printing messages on the candies in 1866, using a press he designed that worked like a stamp.
  10. In Japan, March 14 is a "reply day" when people return the favor to those who gave them Valentine's chocolates. What is it called? White DayIt began in 1978. In Japan, Valentine's chocolates have traditionally been given by women and girls, either as true-love gifts or out of courtesy.
  11. Which Massachusetts businesswoman, later nicknamed "The Mother of the American Valentine," sold some of the first mass-produced valentines in the US? Esther HowlandHer lacy cards were sold through her father's business, the largest book and stationery store in Worcester.
  12. On South Korea's "Black Day," April 14, singles commiserate over noodles in a sauce made from what? Black bean pasteThe dish, jajangmyeon, is a Korean-Chinese favorite, so many people spend the day at Chinese-Korean restaurants lamenting single life.
  13. Thousands of letters addressed to Shakespeare's Juliet arrive each year in which Italian city, where volunteers answer them? VeronaLetters have been arriving since the 1930s. The volunteers of the Juliet Club reply, with funding from the city.
  14. In Finland, February 14 is called ystävänpäivä. Who is the day mainly meant to celebrate? FriendsIn neighboring Estonia, the day is called sõbrapäev, which has the same meaning.
  15. In the Victorian era, what were rude, insulting cards sent anonymously around Valentine's Day called? Vinegar valentinesThey usually paired a caricature with a mocking poem and stayed popular for about a century from the 1840s, in both the US and Britain.
  16. Besides lovers, Saint Valentine is traditionally a patron saint of which group? BeekeepersHe is also invoked against epilepsy, and a skull said to be his is displayed in Rome's Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin.
  17. Chocolate is made from the beans of which tropical tree? CacaoThe Aztecs valued the beans so highly that they used them as payment, and some people counterfeited them by filling empty shells with dirt.
  18. Which South American country is the largest source of cut flowers imported into the United States? ColombiaFrom 2018 to 2022, it supplied about 37 percent of the value of US cut flower and nursery stock imports, according to the USDA.
  19. Many people in Wales celebrate their own day of love on January 25, honoring which saint? St. DwynwenShe is said to have retreated to Llanddwyn, a small tidal island off Anglesey, where the ruins of her church still stand.
  20. Which British chocolate company produced a heart-shaped box of chocolates for Valentine's Day in 1868? CadburyFamily member Richard Cadbury is credited as the first to commercialize the connection between romance and confectionery.

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