Caroline Keohane '24
Celebrating significant others is important, and the whole world seems to agree with me. Days dedicated to love are popular all around the world, and some interesting international traditions have been created from the originally Roman holiday. While the United States uses chocolates and flowers to express love, other cultures do things a little differently. So let’s explore and appreciate these different cultures and how they celebrate love.
Wales:
Wales' celebration of love is held on January 25th and is called St. Dwynwen's Day. On this day, however, the Welsh do not just acknowledge their romantic partners, but all loved ones, friends, and family included. It is said to have originated from the princess, Dwynwen, falling in love with a man she couldn’t marry and asking God for help. God then turned the man she couldn’t marry into an ice block so she would not be tempted by him. Then God granted the princess three wishes for being devout. Her first was for her lover to be thawed, the second was to never marry, and the third was to help all the lovers around the world. Dwynwen then became a nun and the spot where she died is still a pilgrimage site. A strange Welsh tradition on this day is the love spoon. Love spoons are intricately carved wooden spoons that traditionally men would give to their love interests to communicate to them that they wanted a relationship.
South Korea:
South Korea’s love festivities continue for three months on the 14th of each beginning in February and ending in April. The three holidays are Valentine’s Day on February 14th, white day on March 14th, and black day on April 14th. For Valentine’s Day on February 14th in South Korea, only the women buy their lovers gifts and chocolate treats. It originated in the mid-1900’s from chocolate shops encouraging it for business. Then, a month later on White day, March 14th, the men return the gesture by giving their partners white chocolate and other white gifts. It is called white day because after seeing how well the chocolate was doing on Valentine’s Day, confectionery companies encourage the men to buy marshmallows to return the favor. In Korea they try to include everyone, not just those in relationships, so on Black day, April 14th, single friends will get together dressed in black to eat the comfort food jajangmyeon which is noodles covered in a black bean paste.
France:
France is known as the love capital of the world. It is even said that the first valentines card originated in France when Charles Duke of Orleans wrote love letters to his wife from prison. Loterie d’amour, or drawing for love was another Valentine’s tradition in France where women would gather in one house, and men would gather in the adjacent house and slowly, they would pair off. Men who were displeased with their pairing could simply leave the woman for another. The unmatched women would then go to a bonfire where they cursed the opposite sex and burned pictures of those who had left them. This representation of the holiday was soon banned by the government because it got too out of control. Nowadays the holiday is spent much like how it is in the United States, gifts, cards, and chocolates. However these things are only for people in relationships with one another, you do not give all the kids at school Valentine’s like in America and you can’t give someone a friendly valentines card, they might get the wrong idea!
Philippines:
In the Philippines, the day of love is also celebrated on February 14th. In typical Filipino fashion, they make Valentine’s Day a very big deal. Flowers and heart-shaped love memorabilia fill shops on February 1st. People get gifts for all those they care about and the holiday often centers around the love of family. Interestingly, teachers were reported to get the most valentines in the Philippines. Another new tradition is mass weddings on Valentine's Day where many young couples flock to malls and parks to be married en mass. Recently, the government partnered with a toothpaste company to encourage the Filipino people to try to break the world record for most people kissing at once, and going to participate in one of these groups is a wacky tradition for some couples.
While we do not do it in the same ways, it is clear that all different cultures value appreciating our loved ones whether romantic or platonic. How are you going to celebrate yours on February 14th?
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