Happy St. Valentine's Day

May you and yours have warm and wonderful moments today.


Elsewhere on the planet, this holiday has different configurations. Can you imagine walking down the street and the first person you saw became your Valentine? I don't know how far back (or actual) that tradition goes, as I tend to doubt that people still do that, who knows - welcome to Scotland.

In Japan and Korea the woman effectively makes her own gift, typically chocolate, and gives the gift to the man. On March 14, the man gives a gift back. And the Koreans take it one step further, on April 14, those without partners get to eat jajang, or black noodles.

In Estonia, it has become an opportunity for children to create crafts.

“Valentine's Day is a $14.7 billion industry in the U.S. But other countries are crashing Cupid's party, too.” (Forbes, 2009) Of course, this is what has driven Valentine's Day around the world; for what was effectively an ancient European holiday. So, while there is some standing for being cynical at what is a relatively recent holiday for most of the rest of the world, one might also pause to notice that not only did it not take much, but Valentines as a holiday of affection is an add on holiday for many countries. Many already had holiday of affection; Children’s Day, Grandparents Day, and so on.

Sure, one of the suggestions for celebrating in Singapore is to reserve a shared bath at a fancy hotel, but among the more fun noticing is how countries have made this their own. In China the emphasis remains with the youth. And in many locations the gift is not so much bought but made.

As Valentine’s Day is supposed to be about love, one has to guess it doesn’t much matter how it spread around the world, so much as that it did. How charming (and quickly) people do make it their own.

http://www.novareinna.com/festive/valworld.html
http://www.stvalentinesday.org/valentines-day-around-the-world.html
http://kealakai.byuh.edu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3462&Itemid=196
http://www.stvalentines.net/traditions.htm
http://www.mydearvalentine.com/valentine-around-the-world/
http://www.forbes.com/2009/02/11/valentine-mexico-ghana-entrepreneurs-sales_0211_globe.html