The most common story of Valentine’s Day dates back to Saint Valentine, a Christian martyr who died in Rome on February 14th, having left (so legend says) a note for the jailer’s daughter which read “Your Valentine.” Today, Valentine’s Day is consistently considered a day for loved one to present one another with similar tokens of love.
While India and most Middle Eastern countries have banned the holiday due to its focus on sexual overtones and its religious ties to Christianity, most Western cultures still embrace the message of the day and celebrate it in their own distinctive ways. Common sentiments around the world seem to echo in flowers, chocolates, red or pink hearts and messages of love. But every country has variations of these common threads with unique traditions and celebrations of this special day of love. Why not take some Valentine’s Day cues from another country?
IDEAS
- One idea can be to present your loved one with a tradition typically celebrated in his or her country of heritage.
- Another idea may be to create a themed date night, decorating a room in the aesthetic indicative of a country and follow the traditions of that country. Perhaps you and your loved one have visited one of these countries together—what a special memory-filled day that would be!
- Take a proposal idea from Japan or celebrate a “singles day” like Korea!
EUROPE
Early European society began celebrating Valentine’s Day as a way of being in sync with nature as the second week of February is when birds began to mate.
Denmark
The “Lover’s Card” is the most popular gift-exchange in Denmark—What was formerly a transparent card that pictured, when held up to the light, a man presenting a woman with a gift is now considered any colorful card given on Valentine’s Day. Another type of card known as “gaekkebrev” is a romantic custom where a man will send this card to his woman of interest. The card contains a rhyme, written by the man but is not traditionally signed by him—only a dot for each letter of his name will appear on the note. If the woman guesses the correct name, she will receive an egg from him on Easter.
Italy
Specifically in Rome, the holiday of Lupercalia is paralleled with Valentine’s Day. Most commonly now celebrated in South Africa, this holiday is celebrated on February 15th. Dating back to mythological rituals, the significance of the day was to rid the earth and air of any evils and cleanse the city for Springtime.
England
Written verse is among the most popular and romantic in Britain, where countless famous sonnets and poems were penned by its authors. Still, many publications will reserve room in its pages for poetry or written materials especially for Valentine’s Day.
Scotland
Though the Scottish typically treat the day similarly to Americans, their traditions used to be grand and revolved around a festival. An equal number of males and females would attend this party, all names would go into a hat and they the names would then be drawn together in pairs. The male and female chosen together would be each other’s companion for the night which culminated in dancing and gift exchange.
AUSTRALIA
The true tradition of Australia peaked as gold miners became suddenly wealthy and the ability to send overtly-ornate valentines became a sign of wealth. The most heavily-adorned gifts consisted of a box neatly packed with a satin cushion decorated with such riches as colored shells, ribbons and taxidermy hummingbird.
ASIA
Japan typically spend three days dedicated to similar practices of Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s Day itself is celebrated on February 14th as well as much of the rest of the world. On this day, women give the special men in their lives chocolates, usually homemade. Kiri-choco chocolate is for friends and family while hon-mei is for boyfriends and spouses. March 14th or “White Day” is a day when many men reciprocate these sentiments by giving women tokens of their love or even declaring their love for the first time.
Korea celebrates Valentine’s Day and White Day in the same way as Japan. For those individuals in Korea who are not in relationships, April 14th was created as “Black Day.” Not as widely recognized as the other two holidays, Black Day is celebrated when groups of friends who are not currently in relationships will get together and eat jajang (black) noodles.
Taiwan On Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14) and the holiday of the lunar calendar (July 7) flowers are given to women by the men. Though they’re expensive, the flowers have great significance in their quantity. One rose means “a love” while 11 roses means “favorite,” 99 means “forever” and 108 roses means “Will you marry me?”
Franklin,M.A (2010) Valentine's Day Tradition from around the World
Febuary 14, 2011
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