THERE was a time when the mention of Valentine’s Day did not conjure up images of expensive flowers, chocolates, extravagant dinner dates and empty wallets.
Originally a religious festival dedicated to St Valentine’s, one legend claims that the saint was known for secretly marrying off young couples despite a ban by the Roman emperor who subsequently sentenced him to death. Another tells of how he fell in love with the jailor’s daughter while in captivity and sent her a love note signed “From Your Valentine.”
Today, the romantic celebration which falls on Feb 14 is celebrated in many countries as a day to show appreciation for our loved ones.
1. Thailand
The “Day of Love” as the Thais call it coincides with an important religious holiday in Thailand — Makha Bucha Day (veneration of Buddha and his teachings), which Buddhists in the country observe by giving alms to monks, offering prayers and attending dharma talks at temples.
Despite this, Valentine’s Day remains popular with the younger crowd, said 20-year-old Sudarat Wajanisari.
“We wish couples ‘suk san wan waa-len taay’, which is Thai for Happy Valentine’s Day,” said the student who resides in Khon Kaen, Thailand.
Just like in the Philippines, many couples consider this a good time to get married. To cater to this, some government offices in the districts remain open on the holiday for marriage services.
Over the past few years, there have been increasingly innovative ways to get married, such as marriage registrations on elephant rides or while abseiling on a flying fox. Talk about the power of love!
2. The Philippines
Valentine’s Day is celebrated with much pomp in the Philippines. The event is highly commercialised with the usual flowers, gifts and chocolates on promotion a few weeks before the day.
However, certain communities still observe the religious event by attending mass at church, said England Bidol Kerr, 29.
“It is common for Filipinos to have mass weddings on Valentine’s Day, because it is seen as an auspicious date for couples,” said Kerr, who is from Quezon City, the Philippines.
In 2013, over 2,000 couples tied the knot simultaneously in the city of Bacolod, where mass weddings on Valentine’s Day have become an annual tradition since 2004. Some churches even offer free wedding receptions complete with food, music and prizes for underprivileged couples.
3. Japan
Japan took the western tradition of giving chocolates and improvised it — instead of men, women give chocolates to their loved ones on Valentine’s Day.
The gifts are divided into two types: “Giri-Choco” (courtesy chocolate) which is given to friends or colleagues and bosses, and “Honmei-Choco” (chocolate of love) which is given to a boyfriend, lover or husband. The latter is often painstakingly hand-crafted by the women themselves.
Men return the favour of gifts one month later on March 14, or “White Day.”
4. South Korea
South Koreans are a romantic lot, judging by the many different love-related festivals they have.
Just like the Japanese, South Korean women gift chocolates to the men on Valentine’s Day, and the men return the favour on White Day.
Diary Day on Jan 14 is when couples get each other daily planners for the year, while Yellow Day on May 14 has them dressing up in matching yellow outfits and gifting each other roses.
Singles are not left out as there is also Black Day on April 14, where they dress up in black, gather with other single friends and lament about their situation over a bowl of minced meat and black bean noodles (jajangmyeon).
5. Finland
While everyone else pairs off around the world, Finns celebrate platonic love by showing appreciation to their friends and acquaintances.
The Finnish Friendship Day, or “Ystävänpäivä”, also falls on Feb 14 and has become popular since the 1980s.
“People usually send well wishes and cards to each other,” said systems engineer Harri Harju, 27, from Oulu, Finland.
“Finns treat it as a fun day for gatherings and parties, with traditional food such as cakes, gravlax and ‘kalakukko’, a Finnish pie with fish wrapped in pork fat and rye dough,” he explained.
In the capital city of Helsinki, carnival-like events are held with games and activities such as ice-skating, which attracts many young people and couples.
6. China
China has its own version of a love festival — the Qixi festival or “Double Seven” which falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month on the Chinese lunar calendar.
Legends tell of a cowherd and an imperial weaver maiden who fall in love but are doomed to only meet once a year when a flock of magpies form a bridge between them through the heavens. The two figures have become an epitome of everlasting and loyal love.
Student Hu Yang explained that the weaver maiden was said to have extremely good weaving skills, something which Chinese women would pray for on Double Seven, through a practice known as “qi qiao.”
“Qi qiao tests women’s domestic skills. These days there are often contests where girls show off their homely mettle through needle threading, paper-cutting, colourful embroidery or baking,” said Hu, an accounting student pursuing his studies in Malaysia.
“Couples will also pray to the starry sky to wish for a happy marriage, as the cowherd and weaver maiden are said to be the constellations Vega and Altair in the sky,” he added.
7. Brazil
In Brazil, Feb 14 is taken up with preparations for another major festival in the capital — the Brazilian Carnival, which often lasts a week anywhere between February and March.
Instead, Brazilians celebrate “Dia dos Namorados” or the Day of Lovers on June 12, on the eve of Saint Anthony’s Day — an appropriate celebration since the saint is known as the patron saint for marriages.
Like the Christmas tradition of Secret Santa, “amigo secreto” or secret friend is popular throughout Latin America and a chance for secret admirers to send each other love letters and gifts with hints to their identity.
8. United Kingdom
In Norfolk county is a legend similar to Santa Claus — that of Jack Valentine, or Old Father Valentine as he is fondly known.
Stories have it that Jack Valentine would visit the homes of people, knock on their door and disappear after dropping off gifts of candy and sweets.
Norfolk residents would fill a bag with tokens to give away on Valentine’s Eve. They would then make their way to the recipients home, knock and then run away before they were caught.
The hope is that while one is out leaving presents, they will return home to find gifts on the doorstep.
9. Italy and France
Originally thought to be a Serbian tradition dating back to World War I, lovelocks have become a fixture in Europe since the new millennium, as well as in many other parts of the world.
France and Italy, two countries with a reputation for “romantic” cities, have seen a spike in the number of lovelocks on its many beautiful bridges.
Some municipal councils have declared it illegal as the locks are seen as a nuisance -- a lamp post on the Ponte Milvio in Rome was said to have collapsed in 2007 due to the weight of the locks on it, while last year it was reported that parts of the Parisian bridge Pont Des Arts collapsed due to the overwhelming number of lovelocks hooked onto the bridge’s railings.
In response, the city council replaced some parts of the bridge with special glass panels. Whether or not this practice will be enough to deter the millions of lovestruck visitors to the city remains to be seen.
10. Malaysia
Chap Goh Mei falls on the 15th day of the first month in the Chinese lunar calendar. In the early days, the festival saw young people being chaperoned on the streets toting lanterns as a symbol of good luck, in hopes of finding a good match.
Although this practice is no longer popular in China, many countries with sizable Chinese communities such as Malaysia and Singapore have retained some of the ancient traditions such as throwing mandarin oranges into the sea.
The origins of this practice is unknown, but come Chap Goh Mei night, some women would gather at large bodies of water with mandarin oranges in hand, complete with scribbled phone numbers and names. Young men would then wait with nets to fish the fruits out from the water.
¦ You can watch a video of this week’s 10 Valentine’s Day and love celebrations at bit.ly/1FByIUj
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