Every year on February 14th in the UK and many other parts of the world, love is most certainly in the air. Valentine’s Day has become a celebration where couples exchange gifts, share a romantic meal, and maybe make a champagne-fuelled declaration of love for their partner on social media. Gift shops and supermarkets become awash with crimson roses, hearts, and sweet treats in the build-up to the day, but not every country has the same Valentine’s customs. If you’ve ever wondered just why we celebrate on the 14th and are curious about what Valentine’s Day looks like in other countries, get ready for our whistle-stop tour of love across the globe.
In this post, we’ll share some of the cutest and most interesting Valentine’s Day traditions around the world.
Why do we celebrate Valentine’s Day?
Love it or loathe it, we can all admit that Valentine’s Day has become a commercialised affair. As with all celebrations promoted by retailers, this has made Valentine’s Day increasingly popular over the last few decades, with over two-thirds of Brits marking the day each year. While retailers may have cashed in on our sentimentality, it doesn’t alter the authentic origins of the celebration.
Valentine’s Day is held in honour of St Valentine, a mysterious martyr who has numerous legends attached to his name. The first relates to a third-century Roman priest named Valentine, who secretly wed couples after Emperor Claudius II banned marriage among soldiers. The second legend sees the priest Valentine freeing Christians from Roman prisons. In both cases, Valentine was executed for his acts. A third tale speaks of Valentine being imprisoned and falling in love with his jailor’s daughter. Legend has it that before he was put to death, he sent her a card and signed it “From your Valentine”, a line subsequently used in letters and cards for centuries.
There are a few hypotheses about why we celebrate St Valentine on February 14th. It could be that Valentine was martyred on this date, but others believe the Christian church chose February 14th to replace the Pagan fertility festival of Lupercalia. In Medieval times, it was thought that birds chose their mates on this date, offering another potential reason why we celebrate love on this day.
Is Valentine’s Day celebrated around the world?
When you start exploring Valentine’s around the world, you quickly spot a religious thread linking countries that celebrate a version of Valentine’s Day. As a Catholic saint, we most commonly see his celebration acknowledged in countries with a Christian backbone (such as Europe, parts of Africa, and North and South America), while several predominantly Islamic countries, such as Iran, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia, understandably, do not celebrate it.
We could all use a little gifting inspiration for February 14th and what better place to look than the Valentine’s Day traditions from around the world?
Wales
We don’t have to go far to discover the first interesting Valentine’s tradition. In addition to Valentine’s Day on February 14th, the Welsh also mark St Dwynwen’s Day on January 25th. Dwynwen is the patron Saint of lovers in Wales, a king’s daughter who fell in love with the son of a neighbouring king. After fleeing an unwanted arranged marriage, Dwynwen became a nun and devoted her life to helping couples find happiness. This day can be marked with the charming tradition of exchanging a hand-carved love spoon and giving a warm hug.
Valencia
If we hop across to sunny Spain, we find a version of Valentine’s Day celebrated on October 9th in Valencia. The Day of St Dionysius is held in remembrance of this saint of love, who was beheaded for his Christian beliefs. In Valencia and other parts of Spain, the day is marked with parades and feasting, and it is traditional for men to craft little figurines from marzipan called “mocadorà”, which they wrap in silk handkerchiefs and gift to their sweetheart.
Saint-Valentin
This pretty little village in France has its time to shine every February 14th, when it takes on the self-proclaimed title of the “Village of Love”. Residents adorn their homes with floral displays, hearts, and bows, and the village opens its garden to the public, where couples can take a romantic stroll and tie their romantic wish to the “Tree of Vows”. There are feasts and fireworks, and then this sleepy village returns to its quiet existence until the next Valentine’s Day.
Romania
For a country steeped in folklore, it’s little surprise that the traditions for Valentine’s Day in Romania are unique. Their version of the day is held on the February 24th and is known as Dragobete. There is traditional folk dancing around a crackling fire, and single men and women exchange handmade flower crowns. Flowers are an important part of the festivities, with spring flowers picked and hung to dry in the home. Four months later, these dried flowers are thrown into flowing water, like a river or stream, to ward off bad luck.
Estonia and Finland
What do Estonia and Finland have in common when it comes to Valentine’s traditions? Come February 14th, they focus on friendship, celebrating Sõbrapäev and Ystävänpäivä (Friendship Day), respectively. Friends, partners, and even neighbours share small gifts and cards.
Czech Republic
In addition to celebrating Valentine’s Day on February 14th, the Czechs also mark the Day of Love on May 1st. Traditions include kissing beneath cherry or birch blossom for luck and making a pilgrimage to the statue of Karel Hynek Mácha in Petrin Park, the poet who penned some of the country’s greatest romantic works.
Bulgaria
Bulgarians get ready to pop a cork each February 14th as they celebrate Saint Trifon with the tradition of Trifon Zarezan—the giving of wine. Bulgarian folklore suggests that on the 14th, a woman should wake and make grape-leaf bread and rice-stuffed chicken, then her partner should head to the local vineyard, cut three sticks from a vine, and then whisper positive words to it to ensure it yields good wine that year. Alternatively, Bulgarian couples can simply enjoy a glass or two of their favourite local tipple!
South Africa
Heading across the equator to South Africa, we see the confident women of this country share the effective (if less than subtle) Valentine’s custom of pinning their crush’s name to their sleeve. This tradition is known as Lupercalia, in homage to the Pagan festival of the same name.
Ghana
As one of the world’s leading cocoa producers, how could Ghana’s Valentine’s Day traditions not centre around delicious chocolate? Since 2007, February 14th has also been known as National Chocolate Day in Ghana, allowing everyone to celebrate the country’s superb cocoa and exchange delicious treats with loved ones.
Miao
As we head east to Miao in southwest China, we see further offerings of food as an expression of love. Each year, the Sister’s Meal festival is held on the 15th day of the third lunar month. During this spring festival, women cook and present the colourful dish “sister rice” in silk to single men, helping find love matches among the Miao community. Considered one of Asia’s oldest Valentine’s Day traditions, this festival lasts three days. Girls trek into the mountains to pick the wildflowers and leaves they need to dye the rice to gift to suitors, demonstrating their dedication to finding love.
China
Elsewhere in China, in addition to Valentine’s Day, there is another celebration of love held on the seventh day of the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar. Known as Qixi, this celebration is born from the legend of the mythological lovers Zhinü, the heavenly weaver and Niulang, the mortal cow herder. A tale of lovers torn apart and granted permission to meet once a year, the festival of Qixi pays homage to this annual lover’s reunion and the power of love. During the festivities, women pray to Zhinü in temples, and traditionally, they practice their needlework and weaving to honour her.
South Korea
Love is most certainly in the air for the South Koreans who not only celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 14th (where women gift men chocolate) but also mark the 14th of each month with a cute celebration:
Japan
In Japan, the onus is on women to gift men on Valentine’s Day. Women buy or make chocolate-based treats for their partner or love interest but don’t worry, a month later, White Day sees Japanese men return the further with gifts of candy.
Philippines
What could be a greater celebration of love than a wedding? It has become a Valentine’s Day tradition in the Philippines for couples to hold their wedding on this day. Mass ceremonies are often conducted, funded by the government, with hundreds of couples tying the knot together. These mass weddings can be an affordable route for young couples looking to get married, with the government offering a low fee or even no fee for these “collective” nuptials. Unsurprisingly, more people get married on Valentine’s Day in the Philippines than on any other date.
Brazil
It’s time to fly to the other side of the world, where Brazilians celebrate Dia dos Namorados on June 12th, then pay their respects to St Anthony, the patron saint of marriage, the next day. Dia dos Namorados follows very similar traditions to our Valentine’s Day, with the exchange of gifts like flowers, chocolates, and jewellery and sharing a special meal. But there is also a focus on decorating the home, and there are parades and other festivities, with traditional samba dancing and music. Single women may perform simpatias – rituals that are believed to attract a good partner, such as placing a love note in a basil plant and passing it to their love interest.
Argentina
The loving people of Argentina didn’t find that Valentine’s traditions in February were quite enough to satiate their appetite for affection. They dedicate a whole week to love in June, celebrating Sweetness Week. An idea brought to life by confectioner Arcor in the late 1980s (fuelled by their “Candy for a Kiss” campaign), Sweetness Week sees Argentinians express their affection by gifting candy and chocolate to partners, family, friends, and colleagues. The success of Arcor’s campaign means that people still offer a kiss as thanks for their candy.
UK
If you think a card, a bunch of roses, and a supersized box of chocs sums up the UK’s Valentine’s Day traditions, you’d be wrong. Back in the Middle Ages, we Brits would draw lots on the 13th to see who our partner for the Valentine’s Day feast would be – a blind date of sorts. You might pop a bay leaf in your stock pot, but on Valentine’s Eve, women used to place bay leaves beneath their pillows to attract a husband. The Victorians prized handmade Valentine’s cards with romantic messages, excerpts from poems, and “in-jokes” that only the sender and recipient would understand. The vinegar Valentine was an acerbic card sent to tell an unwanted love interest, in no uncertain terms, that love was not on the cards.
Today, Valentine’s Day has become a popular time to propose, and some partners enjoy expressing their love by gifting fine jewellery on the 14th. If this Valentine’s Day will see the purchase of beautiful new jewellery, make sure you give it the protection it needs with a specialist insurance policy.
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