{"id":99574,"date":"2025-02-13T03:00:18","date_gmt":"2025-02-13T03:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/?p=99574"},"modified":"2025-01-24T11:22:40","modified_gmt":"2025-01-24T11:22:40","slug":"valentines-day-traditions-around-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/valentines-day-traditions-around-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Valentine\u2019s Day Traditions From Around the World"},"content":{"rendered":"

Valentine\u2019s Day is one of those holidays you either love or hate. Those who celebrate usually spoil their loved ones with roses, chocolates, love letters and other mushy gifts \u2013 but some countries have more unique ways of spending this holiday, be it starting bonfires fuelled by rage or using bay leaves to manifest husbands. Take a trip around the globe and explore some unique Valentine\u2019s Day traditions from around the world.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n

Ghana \u2013National Chocolate Day<\/h4>\n

Chocolates are the ultimate symbol of love, and if you\u2019re a chocoholic, you\u2019ll want to hop on the first flight to Ghana for V-Day. While the rest of the world recognises the 14th of February as Valentine\u2019s Day, this holiday is known as \u2018National Chocolate Day\u2019 in Ghana. The West African nation is known for its chocolate, with cocoa beans being their biggest export.<\/p>\n

\"food
\nNational Chocolate Day is an opportunity for local businesses to promote chocolate and cocoa-based products. Although one of the aims of this project, which launched in 2005, was to get more locals to consume cocoa themselves, it was initially introduced as an abstinence campaign to encourage youths to celebrate their love with chocolate instead of sexual proclivities. Celebrations include cook-offs, chocolate tastings at market stalls and slam poetry; the event usually ends off with a scheduled rave.<\/p>\n

Read all about how Ghana-based brand Fairafric is crafting chocolate and changing lives<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

South Korea \u2013 Gifts & Chocolates<\/h4>\n

\"\"
\nWhen it comes to Valentine\u2019s Day, men are typically impartial to gifts, but that isn\u2019t the case in South Korea, where men are given chocolates and gifts. Women can expect a month’s delay on chocolates, flowers and gifts, as their spoils only arrive a month later on the 14th of March, better known as \u2018White Day\u2019.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a \u2018Black Day\u2019, which is as sad as it sounds. On April 14th, singles mourn their singlehood by indulging in jjajangmyeon<\/i> or \u2018black bean paste noodles\u2019.<\/p>\n

\n

Japan \u2013 Chocolates for Men<\/h4>\n

\"\"
\nIn Japan, it\u2019s also a Valentine\u2019s Day tradition to gift men chocolates. Different types of chocolates are given depending on the nature of the relationship. They aren\u2019t just designated for partners or spouses, chocolates are also gifted to male friends and bosses alike. Women receive gifts on the 14th of March, similar to the South Korean tradition.<\/p>\n

\n

The Philippines \u2013 Mass Weddings<\/h4>\n

\"\"
\nValentine\u2019s Day is arguably one of the most popular dates for marriage proposals. In the Philippines, they take this to the next level and host mass weddings, where hundreds of couples take to the altar and simultaneously exchange vows. This grand celebration is orchestrated and sponsored by churches and government affiliations. This also gives destitute citizens the chance to legally declare their love for one another and \u2018tie the knot\u2019.<\/p>\n

\n

France \u2013 Bonfires & Love Letters<\/h4>\n

\"\"
\nMost people dream of being whisked away by their partners to Paris, France, also known as the \u2018city of love and lights\u2019. This romantic destination is believed to be the birthplace of love letters. One of the first ever Valentine\u2019s Day letters was written by prince and poet, Charles d\u2019Orl\u00e9ans. Legend has it that the prince was held hostage in the Tower of London in 1415, after being taken in as a political prisoner by the English. He somehow managed to slip his wife a love letter titled \u2018A Farewell to Love\u2019. (Sounds more like a breakup letter, if you ask us, but the prince apparently had a twisted sense of humour.) To this day, gifting cards is still a Valentine\u2019s Day tradition in France and the world all over.<\/p>\n

Another French tradition is une<\/i> loterie d’amour<\/i>, which translates to \u2018love drawing\u2019 or \u2018lottery of love\u2019. This now-banned tradition once involved single men and women running into two separate houses on opposite sides of the road, they would call out a partner they desired to be paired with. The women not chosen apparently gathered to start bonfires and burned photographs of former lovers in an act of rebellion; this quickly got out of hand and was eventually shut down by government officials.\u00a0 The French are nothing if not passionate.<\/p>\n

\n

Taiwan \u2013 Shower your Love with Roses<\/h4>\n

\"\"
\nNo one is happier on Valentine\u2019s than florists<\/a>, especially florists based in Taiwan. Red roses are a popular symbol of love all over the world; in Taiwan, the colour and number of roses received have special meanings. Red roses mean \u2018you are my only love\u2019, eleven roses mean \u2018you\u2019re my favourite\u2019, ninety-nine roses signify a \u2018forever love\u2019, and one-hundred-and-eight roses mean \u2018will you marry me?\u2019 \u2013 a romantic gesture, but having to count that many roses seems like a bunch of work.<\/p>\n

\n

England \u2013 Manifesting Husbands<\/h4>\n

\"\"
\nValentine\u2019s Day doesn\u2019t always smell like roses, for some, it can reek of rejection… something English women were well aware of and decided to take matters into their own hands using ‘love potions’. It was once a Valentine\u2019s Day tradition for English women to slip bay leaves under their pillow \u2013 five to be exact. This was apparently done to evoke dreams of future husbands. A similar ritual involved dabbing bay leaves with rose water \u2013 possibly to increase their chances of manifesting a husband?<\/p>\n

\n

Estonia \u2013 V-day with the Family<\/h4>\n

\"\"Galentine\u2019s<\/a> might be considered a fairly recent celebration to some, but not for Estonians and the Finnish. It\u2019s customary to spend Valentine\u2019s Day with one’s friends; parents also join in on the fun. This Valentine\u2019s Day tradition is known as \u2018Sobrapaev\u2019 in Estonia, which loosely translates to \u2018Friend\u2019s Day\u2019. The tradition began when schoolchildren were asked to make cards for their friends and parents, and the tradition stuck with them.<\/p>\n

\n

South Africa \u2013 Sweetie Pies & P.S. Chocolates<\/h4>\n

\"\"
\nSimilar to most western countries, South Africans gift flowers, chocolates and personalised gifts to their admirers or couples go out for romantic restaurant dinners. It\u2019s also common for people to show up to work or school wearing red, white or pink clothing to fit the love theme. Treats typically gifted include Sweetie Pies<\/em> (dome-shaped chocolates filled with marshmallow) and\u00a0Cadbury P.S. chocolates<\/em>, which come with cute messages like \u2018Will you be mine?\u2019 or \u2018I\u2019m Sorry\u2019 if you\u2019ve done something to upset your Valentine.<\/p>\n

Want to impress your beau? Try these romantic dinner and dessert ideas<\/a>.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Valentine\u2019s Day is one of those holidays you either love or hate. Those who celebrate usually spoil their loved ones with roses, chocolates, love letters and other mushy gifts \u2013 but some countries have more unique ways of spending this holiday, be it starting bonfires fuelled by rage or using bay leaves to manifest husbands. Take a trip around the globe and explore some unique Valentine\u2019s Day traditions from around the world. Ghana \u2013National Chocolate Day Chocolates are the ultimate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8133,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4098],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-99574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"acf":[],"brand_slug":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8133"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99574"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99574\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":118344,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99574\/revisions\/118344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}