Valentine's Day....let's celebrate Love!

Valentine's Day...Let's celebrate Love!

 

Share the love….it’s Valentine’s Day.

Valentine’s Day is celebrated in many countries around the globe in many different ways.

What is not to like really…a holiday celebrating love and friendship, chocolates and flowers….all good things right?

Whilst the UK based  traditions of flowers and chocolates are the most well known here in Australia,  it is also interesting to explore the festivals origins and also other countries traditions and customs. 

Valentine's Day customs developed in early modern England and spread throughout the English-speaking world in the 19th century. In the later 20th and early 21st centuries, these customs spread to other countries, 

In the United States, about 190 million Valentine's Day cards are sent each year, not including the hundreds of millions of cards school children exchange

Valentine's Day is celebrated in many East Asian countries with Singaporeans, Chinese and South Koreans  celebrating by bestowing Valentine's gifts.

In England, just under half of the population celebrate their Valentines yearly gifting  cards, flowers, chocolates, and other gifts, with an estimated 25 million cards being sent.

In Finland Valentine's Day is called ystävänpäivä which translates into "Friend's Day". As the name indicates, this day is more about remembering friends, not significant others.

On Saint Valentine's Day in Ireland, many individuals who seek true love make a pilgrimage to the Shrine of St. Valentine in Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church  in Dublin, which is said to house relics of Saint Valentine of Rome; they pray at the shrine in hope of finding romance. There lies a book in which foreigners and locals have written their prayer requests for love.

In South Korea, women give chocolate to men on February 14, and men give non-chocolate candy to women on March 14 (White Day). On April 14 (Black Day), those who did not receive anything on February or March 14 go to a Chinese-Korean restaurant to eat black noodles.

We have friends who celebrate  valentine’s Day by recognizing  the love of their family by gifting something nice and family related on Valentine’s day so as the children in the family are involved as well. 

So whether you choose to celebrate your one true love, your best friend,  pray for your future love, or celebrate your family and the special relationships in your life Valentine’s Day is a lovely observance celebrated  world wide.

 

We wish you load’s and load’s of love this Valentine’s Day, February 14^th.