How Other Countries Celebrate Valentine's Day

 

Have you ever wondered how other's celebrate Valentine's Day?  Here is your cheat sheet to 11 traditions in other countries.  

 

 

  • Japan – Valentine’s Day is about pampering the guys! Women give chocolates to men, and hope they return the gesture later in the year.

     

  • South Korea – February 14th is one of 12 ‘love’ days that fall on the 14th of each month. Women give gifts to men, then men return the favor on “White Day” 1 month later. But if the gift isn’t returned, singles celebrate White Day by eating ‘Black Noodles’ – a dish that mourns and celebrates single life.

     

  • Scandinavia (Denmark & Norway) – Men send anonymous poems to women. The notes are signed with 1 dot for each letter in the man’s name. If the woman guesses who her admirer is, he rewards her with an egg on Easter.  If she guesses wrong, she owes him the egg on Easter. 

     

  • Slovenia – Slovenians walk through a field barefoot, even if it’s frozen. They celebrate a holiday for love later in the year.

     

  • Estonia – Valentine’s is all about your friends.  Instead of giving your partner a gift, you celebrate friendship. 

     

  • Wales – The Welsh give love spoons on January 25th.  It gives a new meaning to “spooning” with the one you love. 

     

  • France – The French used to call out to each other to pair up for romance. The women who didn’t find matches would gather together at the end of the day and burn photos of the men who rejected them.  This practice was later banned by the French government, as it usually got quite rowdy.

     

  • China – Love seekers visit the matchmaker statue in a temple to find love.  (We wonder If Hogwarts has a hat for this?)

     

  • Germany – The Germans celebrate by “pigging out.”  Statues of pigs are combined with flowers and traditional gifts as a sign of luck.  

     

  • Brazilians – If you believe in fate or luck, celebrate like a Brazilian. Place the names of the people you like into a hat and randomly select one, it could be the person you end up marrying. 

     

  • Italy – When in Rome, visit St. Valentine’s…skull.  You can see it on display and thank him for the wonderful traditions we celebrate today.