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The Valentine’s Day industry has a strong presence on the international scene, although not every country celebrates the holiday the same way.
Valentine’s Day is not really an old tradition in Russia, however people recently decided to celebrate it and make it special. Before being the celebration of couples, Valentine’s Day was more of a day dedicated to friendship in Russia.
In some universities, the holiday was established as a special occasion to show these bonds. Every year, big boxes are displayed on campus so students can post their cards addressed to their friends or people they fancy. At the end of the day they count the cards, and just like a prom king or queen the university prepares a real ceremony. The most popular girl wears a wedding veil and the couple is given a certificate to a nice diner in a restaurant.
Like a lot of holidays in France, Valentine’s Day is closely related to food. The most common way to celebrate “la fête des amoureux” is to make a nice dinner for a lover or friends. Those less handy in the kitchen often go out to a nice restaurant and have a romantic meal with champagne.
For those who do not care about Valentine’s Day traditions they can still enjoy some good time with good company! In Spain, while Feb. 14 is for couples, Feb. 15 is dedicated to the others, the happy –or unhappy– single men and women who can party and enjoy the day and the night in clubs and bars.
In Japan, it’s the girls who take the reins on Feb. 14. Japanese girls usually prepare chocolate candies, as supermarkets provide a wide range of products to stuff, shape or decorate it. The next challenge is to give it to the boys, who can be really shy! Girls then leave the chocolates on the boys’ desks in the classrooms, or in the shoes boxes in the entrance of the schools.
In junior high school, girls start giving chocolates to any boy, because one month later, on “White Day”, it’s the boys’ turn! And the more boys you give candies, the more presents you receive in “White Day”.
In Germany, Valentine’s Day is considered a commercial event, so there is not so much enthusiasm for the holiday. But Germans can be real romantics and original, with another day dedicated to lovers: the 1st of May, or more precisely the night between the 31st of April and the 1st of May. Called “Tanz in den Mai”, or “Dance into the May”, this time celebrates spring coming.
On the first day of May girls rush to their window to see if the night didn’t bring them... a tree! Indeed during the night, after partying hard the boys have to find a tree to give as a present to their girlfriend -or the girl they fancy. They have to find a “maibaum,” a maypole, and decorate it.
Of course the bigger the tree the better it is! Boys have until 6 a.m. to find a tree and put it in front of their lover’s house. They are even allowed to steal the tree until 6 a.m.! Then the girl has to find out who is her mystery lover, who generally leaves some clues. On the 31st of May she decides if she wants to invite the boy and cook for him.
Every country has its own tradition or special way to recognize romance. And although not every country participates in the American version of Valentine’s Day, the language of love translates around the world.
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