World Celebrates Valentine's Day
A Look At How Different Countries Will Be Spending Feb. 14
Briefly examines how Asia, Africa, and North America celebrate Valentine's Day. Also mentions countries that ban the holiday versus the commercial appeal in the US.
The celebration of Valentine’s Day is a major event for American couples. There is an enormous amount of dinner reservations, gift giving, and chocolate eating. However, acknowledgement of the holiday is not restricted to North America. Sometime in history, Valentine’s Day spread to worldwide proportions with individual countries perfecting their own Valentine’s Day customs and even establishing their own special date to observe the occasion. This has been done to personalize the holiday for each specific culture and to resist traditional values from being overtaken by modern western practices.
In Japan, celebrants maintain the February 14th date though women buy gifts for men. The most popular of these gifts are chocolates shaped to look like beetles and caterpillars. There are other chocolates given depending on the woman’s relationship to that person. Girlfriends give homemade hon-mei to their boyfriends to represent true love. Giri-choco is given to friends and colleagues including men. A month later on March 14th, the Japanese celebrate White Day when men give gifts to women. Another Asian area, Thailand, uses the holiday as a kind of prohibition against divorce. A province located in northeastern Thailand plans to refuse the filing of divorce papers on Valentines Day, hoping that giving couples an extra day together may help them reconsider their decision. This is in direct contrast to a radio station giveaway in Charleston, West Virginia which plans to give away a free divorce today.
In Africa, citizens take advantage of love remedies that are offered along with the traditional medicine and herbal remedies that 80 percent of Africans are known to take. These concoctions, made up of herbs, barks and plants can be made into a number of potions which claim to have different effects from gaining a spouse’s respect to attracting a potential love interest. Also that day, young girls take part in Lupercalia where they pin the name of their boyfriends on their sleeve. However, it is mainly young people and tourists who take part in these practices, making the holiday much more low key than it is in the U.S. though in South Africa, Valentine’s Day eve is a busy night for restaurants and tourist attractions with celebrating couples looking to celebrate the event.
India celebrates Valentine’s Day much like Americans do with card and candy exchanges between couples as well as eating out. However, some Indian citizens do not embrace the western influence in their culture. Stricter beliefs can be found in Saudi Arabia where red items are pulled off store shelves to prevent the celebration of the holiday, which is considered a sin in their country.
In the U.S., Valentine’s Day is as commercialized as ever. It is estimated that eight million people send themselves a gift on Valentine’s Day so as not to be left out of the festivities. At the same time, 6 million people have broken up with someone on the holiday. Valentine’s Day sales in this country are predicted to increase this year as well, with Americans spending $17 billion in gifts. This averages out to be about $122 per person with men spending twice as much as women. Over 85 percent of these gifts will be in the form of candy or flowers, blending tradition with commercialism in this modern age.
