By Oren Whiting
Valentine’s Day — a day of love and romance. It is quite popular in America, especially with corporations who take the opportunity to sell as many things plastered with pink and red hearts as possible. There are many people who take the opportunity to celebrate friendships as well, with the unofficial holiday Galentine’s Day (as coined by Leslie Knope of Parks and Recreation) gaining popularity in recent years. Of course, the concept of Valentine’s Day is not unique to America, or even the Western world.
In Brazil, Valentine’s Day is not celebrated in February. This is because February is when Carnival is celebrated, a week-long festivity and one of the biggest events in the country. Instead, Valentine’s Day is celebrated on June 12 and is called la Dia dos Enamorados, or Lover’s Day. The date was chosen due to its proximity to Saint Anthony’s Day and celebrated the day after. Saint Anthony is believed to bless young couples with prosperous marriages, and thus, he is a popular saint on Dia dos Enamorados. On the day, Brazilians typically celebrate much like the American Valentine’s Day: they exchange chocolates, flowers and gifts, and may take their partner out to a fancy dinner.
The Qixi Festival, celebrated in China, falls on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, meaning it varies from year to year. In 2025, the festival will fall on Aug. 29. The festival has been observed for over 2,000 years and celebrates a romantic tale from the Han dynasty.
The story follows a pair of star-crossed lovers. Zhinü, a weaver and the daughter of the Emperor of Heaven, falls in love with Niulang, a cowherd. They marry and have two children together before the Emperor finds out and forcibly brings his daughter back to heaven. Niulang goes in search of his love, but finds his way blocked by a large river placed by the Emperor. This cosmic river is what we now know as the Milky Way. Separated by the river, the couple mourned on opposite shores, but deities were moved by their tears. As the legend says, they permitted magpies to fly to heaven and form a bridge across the river, allowing the couple to meet once a year.
Zhinü is a goddess of weaving, so women would traditionally pray to her to be blessed with excellent needlework to find a good husband. They would leave out offerings of tea, wine, fruit and flowers, and have needlework competitions with other women. A popular dish made during the festival is qiao guo, a thin piece of fried pastry. In modern times, there is less of a focus on needlework, and the festival functions as more of an American-style Valentine’s Day celebration.
Japan combines American Valentine’s Day traditions and a few of their own. On Feb. 14, women will give their male friends and coworkers giri-chocolates. Giri-chocolates are considered an obligatory gift, and are given with platonic intent. Honmei-chocolates are reserved for romantic partners, or for gifting with romantic intent. However, women are not left empty handed. A month later on March 14, otherwise known as White Day, men will gift chocolate in return.
While South Korea celebrates both Valentine’s Day and White Day, like Japan, they add their own unique twist a month after White Day. On April 14, they celebrate the unofficial holiday Black Day. This is a day observed by single people, unlike the previous two days. Commonly, they will consume jajangmyeon, a popular black bean noodle dish. It is both delicious and cheap.
The Welsh Valentine’s Day, officially known as St. Dwynwen’s Day or Dydd Santes Dwynwen in Welsh, is celebrated on Jan. 25. Saint Dwynwen is the patron saint of lovers. Of King Brychan Brycheiniog’s 24 daughters, Dwynwen was the prettiest. Though she fell in love with a man named Maelon Dafodrill, her father had already arranged for her to marry someone else. Distraught by the news, Dwynwen begged God to help her. Subsequently, she was visited by an angel who gave her a potion to forget Maelon. However, the potion also turned Maelon into ice. God then granted Dwynwen three wishes, of which she wished for Maelon to be unfrozen, for God to aid all young lovers and for her to never have to marry. In thanks, she became a nun.
The day itself is celebrated much like American Valentine’s Day, with young couples exchanging gifts and spending time together. However, a unique tradition the Welsh practice is the carving and gifting of lovespoons. While the exact origin of the tradition is unknown, the oldest spoon preserved in a museum dates to 1667. Though there are not many historical sources, it is generally believed that male suitors would carve the spoons as a gift for their female lovers. If possible, the spoons would be carved from a single piece of wood, and are intricate and beautiful.
Celebrations of love, romance, friendship and family can be found across the globe. Cultures have unique ways of celebrating, and all of them are complex and beautiful. From small, intimate moments with a partner, to large festivals, it is easy to say that humanity simply loves love.
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