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Here is how valentines day is celebrated worldwide in many countries. Thanks to wikipedia for this wonderful document.
Celebration worldwide
Valentine's Day customs developed in early modern England and spread throughout the Anglosphere in the 19th century. In the later 20th and early 21st centuries, these customs have also spread to other countries along with other aspects of American pop culture, but its impact so far has been rather more limited than that of Halloween, or that of US pop-culture inspired aspects of Christmas (such as Santa Claus).
Due to a concentrated marketing effort, Valentine's Day is celebrated in some East Asian countries with Chinese and South Koreansspending the most money on Valentine's gifts.[72]
China
In China, the common situation is the man gives chocolate, flowers or both to the woman that he loves. In Chinese, Valentine's Day is called lovers' festival (simplified Chinese: 情人节; traditional Chinese: 情人節; pinyin: qíng rén jié). The so-called "Chinese Valentine's Day" is the Qixi Festival, celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar. It commemorates a day on which a legendary cowherder and weaving maid are allowed to be together. Valentine's Day on February 14 is not celebrated because it is often too close to the Chinese New Year, which usually falls on either January or February.[citation needed] In Chinese culture, there is an older observance related to lovers, called "The Night of Sevens" (Chinese: 七夕; pinyin: Qi Xi). According to the legend, the Cowherd star and the Weaver Maid star are normally separated by the Milky Way (silvery river) but are allowed to meet by crossing it on the 7th day of the 7th month of the Chinese calendar.
In recent years, celebrating White Day has also become fashionable among some young people.
Finland and Estonia
In Finland Valentine's Day is called Ystävänpäivä which translates into "Friend's Day". As the name indicates, this day is more about remembering friends, not significant others. In Estonia Valentine's Day is called sõbrapäev, which has the same meaning.[73]
France
In France, a traditionally Catholic country, Valentine's Day is known simply as "Saint Valentin", and is celebrated in much the same way as other western countries.
Greece
St. Valentine's Day, or Ημέρα του Αγίου Βαλεντίνου in Greek tradition was not associated with romantic love; In the Eastern Orthodox church there is another Saint who protects people who are in love, Hyacinth of Caesarea (feast day 3 July), but in contemporary Greece, this tradition has mostly been superseded by the "globalized" form of Valentine's Day.[citation needed]
India
In India, in antiquity, there was a tradition of adoring Kamadeva, the lord of love; exemplificated by the erotic carvings in the Khajuraho Group of Monuments and by the writing of the Kamasutra treaty of lovemaking.[74] This tradition was lost around the Middle Ages, when Kamadeva was no longer celebrated, and public displays of sexual affection became frowned upon.[74] This repression of public affections persisted until the 1990s.
In the state of West Bengal, Saraswati Puja, a festival observed in early spring where Saraswati, the goddess of learning is worshipped; has often been seen as a Bengali version of Valentine's Day; especially among the urban middle-class youth.
Valentine's Day celebrations did not catch on in India until around 1992. It was spread due to the programs in commercial TV channels, such as MTV, dedicated radio programs and love letter competitions, in addition to an economical liberalization that allowed the explosion of the valentine card industry.[74][75] Economic liberalization also helped the Valentine card industry.[75] The celebration has caused a sharp change on how people have been displaying their affection in public since the Middle Ages.[74]
In modern times, Hindu and Islamic[76] traditionalists have considered the holiday to be cultural contamination from the West, a result of the globalization in India.[74][75] Shiv Senaand the Sangh Parivar have asked their followers to shun the holiday and the "public admission of love" because of them being "alien to Indian culture".[77] Although these protests are organized by political elites, the protesters themselves are middle-class Hindu men who fear that the globalization will destroy the traditions in their society: arranged marriages, Hindu joint families, full-time mothers, etc.[75][76]
Despite these obstacles, Valentine's Day is becoming increasingly popular in India.[78]
Valentine's Day has been strongly criticized from a postcolonial perspective by intellectuals from the Indian left. The holiday is regarded as a front for "Western imperialism", "neocolonialism", and "the exploitation of working classes through commercialism by multinational corporations".[79] Studies have shown that Valentine's Day promotes and exacerbates income inequality in India, and aids in the creation of a pseudo-westernized middle class.[citation needed] As a result, the working classes and rural poor become more disconnected socially, politically, and geographically from the hegemonic capitalist power structure. They also criticize mainstream media attacks on Indians opposed to Valentine's Day as a form of demonization that is designed and derived to further the Valentine's Day agenda.[80][81] Right wing Hindu nationalists are also hostile. In February 2012 Subash Chouhan of the Bajrang Dal warned couples that "They cannot kiss or hug in public places. Our activists will beat them up".[82] He said "We are not against love, but we criticize vulgar exhibition of love at public places".[83]
Iran
In Iran, the Sepandarmazgan, or Esfandegan, is a festival where people express love towards their mothers and wives, and it is also a celebration of earth in ancient Persian culture. It has been progressively forgotten in favor of the Western celebration of Valentine's Day. The Association of Iran's Cultural and Natural Phenomena has been trying since 2006 to make Sepandarmazgan a national holiday on 17 February, in order to replace the Western holiday.[84]
Israel
In Israel, the Jewish tradition of Tu B'Av has been revived and transformed into the Jewish equivalent of Valentine's Day. It is celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Av(usually in late August). In ancient times girls would wear white dresses and dance in the vineyards, where the boys would be waiting for them (Mishna Taanith end of Chapter 4). Today, Tu B'Av is celebrated as a second holiday of love by secular people (beside Valentine's Day), and it shares many of the customs associated with Saint Valentine's Day in western societies. In modern Israeli culture Tu B'Av is a popular day to pronounce love, propose marriage and give gifts like cards or flowers.[85]
Japan
In Japan, Morozoff Ltd. introduced the holiday for the first time in 1936, when it ran an advertisement aimed at foreigners. Later in 1953 it began promoting the giving of heart-shaped chocolates; other Japanese confectionery companies followed suit thereafter. In 1958 the Isetan department store ran a "Valentine sale". Further campaigns during the 1960s popularized the custom.[86][87]
The custom that only women give chocolates to men may have originated from the translation error of a chocolate-company executive during the initial campaigns.[88] In particular, office ladies give chocolate to their co-workers. Unlike western countries, gifts such as greeting cards,[88] candies, flowers, or dinner dates[89] are uncommon, and most of the activity about the gifts is about giving the right amount of chocolate to each person.[88] Japanese chocolate companies make half their annual sales during this time of the year.[88]
Many women feel obliged to give chocolates to all male co-workers, except when the day falls on a Sunday, a holiday. This is known as giri-choko (義理チョコ), from giri("obligation") and choko, ("chocolate"), with unpopular co-workers receiving only "ultra-obligatory" chō-giri choko cheap chocolate. This contrasts with honmei-choko (本命チョコ, favorite chocolate), chocolate given to a loved one. Friends, especially girls, may exchange chocolate referred to as tomo-choko (友チョコ); from tomo meaning "friend".[90]
In the 1980s the Japanese National Confectionery Industry Association launched a successful campaign to make March 14 a "reply day", where men are expected to return the favour to those who gave them chocolates on Valentine's Day, calling it White Day for the color of the chocolates being offered. A previous failed attempt to popularize this celebration had been done by a marshmallow manufacturer who wanted men to return marshmallows to women.[86][87]
Men are expected to return gifts that are at least two or three times more valuable than the gifts received in Valentine's Day. Not returning the gift is perceived as the man placing himself in a position of superiority, even if excuses are given. Returning a present of equal value is considered as a way to say that the relationship is being cut. Originally only chocolate was given, but now the gifts of jewelry, accessories, clothing and lingerie are usual. According to the official website of White Day, the color white was chosen because it's the color of purity, evoking "pure, sweet teen love", and because it's also the color of sugar. The initial name was "Ai ni Kotaeru White Day" (Answer Love on White Day).[86][87]
In Japan, the romantic "date night" associated to Valentine's Day is celebrated on Christmas Eve.[91]
In a 2006 survey of people between 10 and 49 years of age in Japan, Oricon Style found the 1986 Sayuri Kokushō single "Valentine Kiss" to be the most popular Valentine's Day song, even though it sold only 317,000 copies.[92] The singles it beat in the ranking were number one selling "Love Love Love" from Dreams Come True (2,488,630 copies) and "Valentine's Radio" from Yumi Matsutoya (1,606,780 copies). The final song in the top five was "My Funny Valentine" by Miles Davis.[92]
In Japan, a slightly different version of a holiday based on a lovers' story called Tanabata (七夕) has been celebrated for centuries, on July 7 (Gregorian calendar).[93] It has been considered by Westerners as similar to St. Valentine's Day,[94] but it's not related to it, and its origins are completely different.
Latin America
In some Latin American countries Valentine's Day is known as "Día del Amor y la Amistad" (Day of Love and Friendship). For example Colombia,[95] Costa Rica,[96] the Dominican Republic,[citation needed] Ecuador,[97] Mexico,[98] and Puerto Rico, as well as others. It is also common to see people perform "acts of appreciation" for their friends. In Guatemala it is known as the "Día del Cariño" (Affection Day).[99] In Brazil, the Dia dos Namorados (lit. "Lovers' Day", or "Boyfriends'/Girlfriends' Day") is celebrated on June 12, probably because that is the day before Saint Anthony's day, known there as the marriage saint,[100] when traditionally many single women perform popular rituals, called simpatias, in order to find a good husband or boyfriend. Couples exchange gifts, chocolates, cards and flower bouquets. The February 14 Valentine's Day is not celebrated at all because it usually falls too little before or too little after the Brazilian Carnival[101] — that can fall anywhere from early February to early March and lasts almost a week. Because of the absence of Valentine's Day and due to the celebrations of the Carnivals, Brazil is a popular tourist spot during February for Western singles who want to get away from the holiday.[102]
In most of Latin America the Día del amor y la amistad and the Amigo secreto ("Secret friend") are quite popular and are usually celebrated together on the 14 February (one exception is Colombia, where it is celebrated on the third Saturday in September). The latter consists of randomly assigning to each participant a recipient who is to be given an anonymous gift (similar to the Christmas tradition of Secret Santa).
Philippines
In the Philippines, Valentine's Day is called Araw ng mga Puso ("Hearts Day"), and is celebrated in much the same manner as in the West. It is usually marked by a steep increase in the price of flowers, particularly red roses. 2014
Portugal
In Portugal it is more commonly referred to as "Dia dos Namorados" (Lover's Day / Day of the Enamoured).
Romania
In recent years, Romania has also started celebrating Valentine's Day. This has drawn backlash from several groups, institutions[103] and nationalist organizations like Noua Dreaptǎ, who condemn Valentine's Day for being superficial, commercialist and imported Western kitsch. In order to counter the perceived denaturation of national culture, Dragobete, a spring festival celebrated in parts of Southern Romania, has been rekindled as the traditional Romanian holiday for lovers. Its date used to vary depending on the geographical area, however nowadays it is commonly observed on February 24. The holiday is named after a character from Romanian folklore who was supposed to be the son of Baba Dochia. His name has been associated, possibly through folk etymology, to the word drag ("dear"), which can also be found in the word dragoste ("love").
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia has illegalized Valentine's Day. Youth people in Saudi Arabia has arrested since Saudi Arabia think Valentine's Day is not an Islamic festival.
In Denmark and Norway, although February 14 is known as Valentinsdag, it is not celebrated to a large extent, but is largely imported from American culture, and some people take time to eat a romantic dinner with their partner, to send a card to a secret love or give a red rose to their loved one. The cut-flower industry in particular is still working on promoting the holiday. In Sweden it is called Alla hjärtans dag ("All Hearts' Day") and was launched in the 1960s by the flower industry's commercial interests, and due to the influence of American culture. It is not an official holiday, but its celebration is recognized and sales of cosmetics and flowers for this holiday are only exceeded by those for Mother's Day.
Singapore
According to findings, Singaporeans are among the biggest spenders on Valentine's Day, with 60% of Singaporeans indicating that they would spend between $100 and $500 during the season leading up to the holiday.[72]
South Korea
In South Korea, women give chocolate to men on February 14, and men give non-chocolate candy to women on March 14 (White Day). On April 14 (Black Day), those who did not receive anything on 14 February or March go to a Chinese-Korean restaurant to eat black noodles (자장면 jajangmyeon) and lament their 'single life'.[89] Koreans also celebrate Pepero Day on November 11, when young couples give each other Pepero cookies. The date '11/11' is intended to resemble the long shape of the cookie. The 14th of every month marks a love-related day in Korea, although most of them are obscure. From January to December: Candle Day, Valentine's Day, White Day, Black Day, Rose Day, Kiss Day, Silver Day, Green Day, Music Day, Wine Day, Movie Day, and Hug Day.[104] Korean women give a much higher amount of chocolate than Japanese women.[89]
Spain
In Spain, Valentine's Day is known as "San Valentín" and is celebrated the same way as in the UK, it is however not celebrated in Catalonia.
Taiwan
In Taiwan, traditional Qixi Festival, Valentine's Day and White Day are all celebrated. However, the situation is the reverse of Japan's. Men give gifts to women on Valentine's Day, and women return them on White Day.[89]
United States
In the United States, about 190 million Valentine's Day cards are sent each year. And that figure does not include the hundreds of millions of cards school children exchange.[105]Additionally, in recent decades Valentine's Day has become increasingly commercialized and a popular gift-giving event, with Valentine’s Day themed advertisements encouraging spending on loved ones. In fact, in the United States alone, the average valentine’s spending has increased every year, from $108 a person in 2010 to $131 in 2013.[106]
Wales
In Wales, many people celebrate Dydd Santes Dwynwen (St Dwynwen's Day) on January 25 instead of (or as well as) Valentine's Day. The day commemorates St Dwynwen, the patron saint of Welsh lovers.
