LOVE
Love AROUND THE WORLD
THE LANGUAGE OF LOVE IS AN ENTIRELY SUBJECTIVE MATTER … WHILE SOME CHOOSE TO LAVISH THEIR VALENTINE WITH PRESENTS , CHOCOLATES AND GRAND GESTURES , OTHERS ARE MORE LOW-KEY CHOOSING TO COOK AN INTIMATE MEAL AT HOME OR TAKE THE KIDS OUT GIVING THE GIFT OF ME TIME TO THEIR PARTNER . WHICHEVER WAY YOU CHOOSE TO MARK THE DAY WITH THE ONE YOU ADORE – OR EVEN IF YOUR PREFERENCE IS TO IGNORE IT ALL TOGETHER – IT ’ S HARD TO DENY THERE ’ S SOMETHING QUITE MAGICAL ABOUT VALENTINE ’ S DAY ; A REAL SENSE THAT LOVE IS IN THE AIR . IN THE SPIRIT OF ROMANCE AND DISCOVERY , WE THOUGHT WE ’ D TAKE A LOOK AT HOW VALENTINE ’ S DAY IS CELEBRATED ALL OVER THE WORLD AND QUICKLY REALISED THAT NOT EVERY CULTURE CHOOSES TO DECLARE THEIR LOVE WITH CUTESY CARDS AND ( OFTEN OVERPRICED ) ROSES .
France
Paris is known as the City of Love and rumour has it that the world ’ s first Valentine ’ s Day card was created in France when Charles , Duke of Orleans , sent love letters to his wife from the prison in 1415 . The quaint French village of St . Valentin , which is tucked away in Indre in France ’ s central Val de Loire region , is the very epitome of romance between February 12 and 14 every year and fully deserving of its moniker : ‘ The Village of Love ' when every resident adorns their gardens , homes and the local trees with Valentine ’ s cards , roses and confetti .
South Korea
Not content with just one day devoted to love each year , couples in South Korea celebrate the day of love on the 14th day of every month . ‘ The day of roses ’ is celebrated in May , June heralds a ‘ day of kisses ’, and ‘ the day of hugs ’ is December ’ s ode to love . Less cute sounding , but equally important , single South Koreans celebrate ‘ black day ’ in April by eating black noodles .
Finland & Estonia
Finland and Estonia avoid the soppy , couples-driven idea of Valentine ’ s Day , opting instead to celebrate friendship , which we think is a brilliant idea . Called Ystävän Päivä in Finnish and Sõbrapäev in Estonian , February 14 sees people exchange presents and cards along with the greeting ‘ Happy Friends Day ’ - not what you want to hear from someone you ’ re madly in love with , but lovely nonetheless .
Ghana
Sweet-toothed Ghanaians celebrate February 14 with chocolate . Yes , wonderfully , it ’ s true . A West African government official rebranded Valentine ’ s Day as ‘ National Chocolate Day ’ in 2007 to increase tourism to the country , which makes total sense . The Republic of Ghana is the second biggest exporter of cocoa in the world and on Feb 14 , the country comes alive with performances , music events , and restaurants that create special chocolatethemed menus for the day .
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