There’s no better time to show the special person in your life how much he or she means to you than Valentine’s Day – an entire day dedicated to that small but mighty four-letter word: love!
With February 14 fast approaching, many couples in love are rushing to plan dinners, buy gifts and set up dating partners.
But in some parts of the world, Valentine’s Day is more than handing your partner a bouquet of flowers or serenading him with poetry; it involves some intense and rather bizarre practices in declaring your love.
While chocolates and roses are common ways to show your appreciation and adoration for loved ones on Valentine’s Day, mass weddings and naming cockroaches after an ex-partner are more conventional in other communities.
In one country, the common practice of women receiving chocolate from men has been reversed: men are showered with sweet treats by their female partners.
Here are seven of these lesser-known traditions that have been commemorated on February 14 in different times, places and cultures.
In some parts of the world, Valentine’s Day is more than handing your partner a bouquet of flowers or serenading him with poetry; it involves some intense and rather bizarre practices.
Bouquets of flowers with hidden meanings in the United States
In the 19th century, roses were less common when gifting bouquets of flowers to loved ones. Instead, different types and colors of flora were selected to express a certain feeling, thus History.com.
Elizabeth White Nelson, associate professor of history at the University of Nevada and author of Market Sentiments: Middle-Class Market Culture in 19th-Century America, says how nineteenth-century flower dictionaries gave meaning to each species.
For Valentine’s Day, she said, “The idea was that you could give a bouquet that wasn’t just a bouquet of flowers.” There was a whole message encoded in the flowers.’
A bouquet of snowdrops represented hope, while a bunch of yellow acacia represented hidden love, and receiving both meant that the sender wanted to express secret feelings of adoration and hoped that these would be reciprocated.
The professor explains how sending bouquets in the 19th century depended on who you were and what type of flowers you had access to, which she says was “a very small group of people in the middle of winter in the United States.”
In the 19th century, roses were less common when gifting bouquets of flowers to loved ones – instead, different types and colors were selected to express a feeling
Pig and gingerbread inspired gifts in Germany
In Germany it is tradition to include pigs and gingerbread in gifts on Valentine’s Day.
Valentine’s Day, called Valentinstag in German, only took place in Germany after the end of World War II.
Since then, Germans have put their own spin on the day, including donating pig-related items on February 14, as the animal symbolizes good luck in Germany.
Meanwhile, it is also common for Germans to give out large heart-shaped gingerbread cookies, known as lebkuchen, to loved ones for Valentine’s Day.
It is common for Germans to give out large heart-shaped gingerbread cookies, known as lebkuchen, to loved ones for Valentine’s Day (Photo: Getty)
Puzzle wallet gifts in England and the United States
In the 18th and 19th centuries, puzzle wallets were popular for gifting to loved ones on Valentine’s Day.
A puzzle bag is made entirely of paper, which is folded and has parts of a message or verses written on it at different corners.
Because the puzzle bag was intended to be read in a specific order, the folds were usually numbered so that the recipient knew how to proceed to the next message.
Unfolding one section – and in turn undoing the puzzle – revealed some of the writing, sometimes leading to a small gift waiting in the middle.
Men receive chocolate in Japan
In Japan, the typical gender roles are reversed on Valentine’s Day, with women traditionally offering Valentine’s Day chocolate to men.
The practice’s origins stem from a chocolate manufacturer’s 1958 suggestion that women use Valentine’s Day chocolate to confess romantic feelings, as reported by History.com.
Japanese department stores also promoted the practice in the 1970s, inspiring Japan’s White Day, which researchers say is known as the country’s Valentine’s Day in reverse. BBC news.
Women gift different types of chocolate to express different feelings about a person, with Honmei choco – meaning chocolate with true feelings – going to male romantic interests.
Giri choco – or obligatory chocolate – is offered to male colleagues or classmates, while tomo choco – friend chocolate – is given to friends of any gender.
However, the desire for mandatory chocolate distribution has waned, with a 2017 poll showing that less than 40 percent of women planned to hand out giri choco.
Japanese women who follow the gender-specific tradition have their own day to receive gifts from the men in their lives when White Day arrives on March 14.
In Japan, the typical gender roles are reversed on Valentine’s Day, with women traditionally offering Valentine’s chocolates to men (Photo: Getty)
Celebrating Black Love Day in the United States
In African American communities in the United States, Black Love Day is celebrated on February 13.
In 1993, Ayo Handy-Kendi, founder of the African American Holiday Association, was inspired to start Black Love Day after seeing the assassination of Malcolm
She explained that she wanted a holiday that would focus on “increasing peace and ending violence” and based it on an alternative date that did not “emerge from European culture.”
Establishing “a value system based on principles, like Kwanzaa” Handy-Kendi says of Black Love Day: “The five principles showed love for the creator, showed love for ourselves, showed love for the black family, the black community and the race .’
Traci Parker, associate professor of African American studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, says of Black Love Day, “It’s very important to have a place where love can be celebrated, especially in a community where it has historically been under attack.” . .’
In African American communities in the United States, Black Love Day is celebrated on February 13 (Photo: Getty)
Mass marriages in the Philippines
In the Philippines, it is common for mass weddings to take place across the country on Valentine’s Day.
The ceremonies are part of a boost from local authorities, who are using the day as a way to help cash-strapped couples hoping to get married.
On February 14, 2010, 1,500 couples were married in a mass ceremony in a suburb of Manila.
Even during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, amid social distancing restrictions and, albeit in smaller numbers, a number of couples got married on Valentine’s Day in a mass wedding ceremony.
Thanks to efforts by the Philippine government, February 14 is now the most common wedding anniversary in the country.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, a number of couples married, albeit in smaller numbers, in a mass wedding ceremony on Valentine’s Day
Celebrating friendship in Latin America
On February 14, Valentine’s Day includes the celebration of friends, not just lovers, in parts of Latin America, including Ecuador, El Salvador and Mexico.
Known as El Día del Amor y Amistad (Day of Love and Friendship), this occasion marks and honors friendship.
In El Salvador, people draw names and exchange gifts – in a tradition known as Amigo Secreto (Secret Friend) – on February 14.
In the 1980s, Estonia and Finland began to recognize platonic love and friendship in addition to romance on February 14, with friends organizing gift exchanges and restaurant dates with each other rather than just with romantic partners.
In Estonia, Friends Day is known as Sõbrapäev, while in Finland, Friends Day is called Ystävän Päivä.
Naming a cockroach after an ex-partner in the United States
In parts of the United States, some like to use Valentine’s Day to reflect on those who have scorned them – by naming them after a cockroach.
Sometimes a relationship isn’t going well, or you’ve had to deal with infidelity at the hands of a cheating spouse, which can make Valentine’s Day difficult.
However, for a small fee, several zoos have offered solutions to people who may be suffering from heartbreak by setting up cockroach naming services.
The Bronx Zoo has Name a cockroach for your Valentineoffers from Brookfield Zoo in Chicago Name a cockroach after your ex and the San Antonio Zoo is hosting one Call me a cockroach fundraiser every year.
Every zoo offers some sort of certificate to commemorate the naming – and to send along to the cockroach’s honor.
In parts of the United States, some like to use Valentine’s Day to reflect on those who have scorned them – by naming them after a cockroach (Photo: Getty)