While today may not be an official holiday, Valentine’s Day is one of the most popular in the year’s calendar. Its origins are a mix of legends involving two Christian martyrs, a Roman fertility rite, and the old notion that this is the time of year when the birds choose their mates. What is sure is that Esther Howland of Massachusetts began selling the first mass-produced valentines in the 1840s. Today’s occasion falls in the heart of February, which is also National Wedding Month. There were 2.1 million weddings in the U.S. in 2011; that’s about 5,800 per day. Some 19 men out of 1,000 get married each year; for women, the rate is over 17½ per thousand. Wyoming leads the nation in marriage rate for both sexes. Profile America is in its 17th year as a Public Service of the U.S. Census Bureau.