Opinions Season's Special Valentines Day

A Quick Account of Valentine’s Day Celebrations Across the World

Author: Arun

Love is a beautiful and strong emotion that makes two people completely fearless, defy age old traditions and customs and broke the all social norms and barriers. The history is filled with the numerous love legends of the couples like “Romeo and Juliet”,  “Cleopatra and Mark Anthony”,  “Paris and Helena”,  “Napoleon and Josephine” and much more. The list would be incomplete without mentioning the various love couples of a particular region or country which have their own love fables.

Celebrating the strength of love across the world, Valentine’s Day is celebrated on 14th February every year in the loving memory of Saint Valentine. The priest was known to conduct the secret marriages of the couples who were in love. This emotion of love is celebrated actively across various countries and regions in various ways. Let us now get back to the valentine day celebrations across the world with the help of this blog.

eiffel towerFrance- Paris, the capital city of France is known as the “the city of love” and is known as the world capital of Valentine’s Day. Here, the couples from around the world gather at this city for this special day of love. The lovers in France exchange letters and cards between each other and is believed to give birth to the culture of sending valentine greeting cards and letters. The history says that the first Valentine’s card was written by Duke of Orleans, Charles as a signature for his poem where he wrote “Your Valentine”.

Great Wall of China

Image Credits: britannica.com

China- Do you know the present concept of Valentine’s Day celebrations in China is entirely different from the centuries-old love celebration? Yes, it is absolutely true. China celebrates the equivalent of Valentine day as its own “Qixi Festival” which is referred as “The Night of Seven”. The festival is celebrated in the month of early August on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. The celebration is conducted in the memory of old Chinese love story of two stars of the Milky Way galaxy.

In honor of this day, Chinese girls pray to get good husbands and offer fruits, carve melons and other things to Zhinu, the ancient goddess of love and relationships to fulfill their wishes.

India- Love festival of Valentine is celebrated with great enthusiasm and excitement among couples. The Valentine fever has gripped the entire nation since last few years and people are celebrating this day of love inspite of the protests by various social and political groups. Furthermore, according to the Hindu religion, the “Kamadeva” is known as the god of love who has a special bow of flowers with him. Any couples who is struck by his magical arrow falls in love with each other and so, it can be said that the ancient tradition and culture of India openly accepted the love. Various malls, shopping complexes, restaurants, bars and other places organize Valentine’s Day theme parties and encourage young couples to be part of their celebration.  

rio-de-janeiro-brazil

Image Credits: CNN.com

Taiwan- Taiwan with its beautiful flowers is considered to host the most romantic Valentine day celebrations around the world. Here, the Valentine day celebrations occur twice in a year, which is on 14th February and 7th July. Men in Taiwan offer bouquets of flowers as gift to their beloved. The Taiwanese tradition associates the color and number of flowers to a special message such as red roses signifies “an only love”, ninety-nine roses means “love forever” and 108 roses represents the famous question of “Will you marry me?”.

Brazil- For the people who are looking for a huge Valentine day party, Brazil is an ideal destination for them. Here, the Brazil’s Carnival celebrations are carried out throughout the month of February or March every year which coincides with the Valentine’s Day celebrations. The local equivalent of Valentine day in Brazil is known as “Dia dos enamorados” or “Lovers day” and falls on the day of 12th June every year. On this occasion, Brazilians love to exchange chocolates, flowers, cards and other gift items to their lovers. However, the musical performances that are held throughout the various cities and towns is the major highlight of the Valentine’s Day celebrations. The singles in the Brazilian society perform various rituals to increase their chances of getting a perfect life partner as a husband or wife. 

So, the methods and the stories behind the celebration of Valentine’s Day may be different but the basic essence of love remains the same. This day of love is celebrated all over the world with its own local love stories, traditions and rituals. Find out your love on this Valentine’s Day and make the celebrations worth memorable for both of you.

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