The facts of life: romance & passion

Wales is the most romantic place in the UK, according to a survey that looked at the percentage of people in different places who claim to be in love.

Overall, some 70 per cent of Britons say that they are currently in love, with over 80 per cent believing that love can be everlasting. This makes the UK the most romantic country in Europe.

Other romantic places in the UK (according to a different survey) include Holy Island in Northumberland; the Great Orme in Llandudno, North Wales; and the White Horse car park at Brancaster Staithe in Norfolk.

All are valued for the quality of their sunsets which more than half of Britons consider to be romantic. This means that a sunset is generally considered more romantic than the second-placed mood-maker, a candle-lit dinner; or the third, a shared bubble bath.

According to Professor Steven Pinker at Harvard University, romantic infatuation is like an addiction. While lust is fuelled in both sexes by testosterone, and companionate love by vasopressin and oxytocin, romantic passion taps into the same dopamine system that is engaged by other obsessive drives such as drug addiction.

The world's most romantic couple may be Lauren and David Blair, of Hendersonville, Tennessee, who have renewed their wedding vows 94 times since their first marriage in 1984 at locations ranging from Gretna Green to Graceland.

The first recorded association of Valentine's Day with romantic love is in Geoffrey Chaucer's Parlement of Foules (1382): "For this was on seynt Volantynys day; Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make."

South Korean singletons left lonely on Valentine's Day have a day of their own: April 14, or Black Day. On that day, the unlucky in love dress up in dark clothes and eat black food such as noodles with black bean sauce.

According to Jewish tradition the 15th day of the month of Av - Tu B'Av (usually late August) is the festival of love. In ancient times girls would wear white dresses and dance in the vineyards, where the boys would be waiting for them. In modern Israeli culture this is a popular day to pronounce love, propose marriage and give gifts such as cards or flowers.

The term "romance" comes from the Vulgar Latin word romanice, used in the expression "romanice loqui", "to speak in Roman" (as opposed to Latin). The modern sense of a romance novel or love affair has the same origin. In the mediaeval literature of Western Europe, serious writing was usually in Latin, while popular tales, often focusing on love, were composed in the vernacular and came to be called "romances".

The average American spends nearly $123 on Valentine's Day. Among other things, the day usually sees a significant increase in the buying of guns.

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