Is Valentine's Day celebrated around the world?

OAKLAND, Calif. - Feb. 10, 2015 - PRLog -- In China, Valentine's Day on February 14 is not celebrated because it often falls too close to the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_New_Year).) In Chinese, Valentine's Day is called lovers' festival (simplified Chinese (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simplified_Chinese_characters): 情人节; traditional Chinese (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_characters): 情人節; pinyin (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinyin): qíng rén jié.) The so-called "Chinese Valentine's Day" is the Qixi Festival (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qixi_Festival), celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar which usually falls in January or February when men give chocolate (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate), flowers or both to the woman that they love.

In Brazil, Valentine's Day is not celebrated on February 14th because it usually falls close to Carnival. Because of the absence of Valentine's Day and the chance to attend Carnival, Brazil is very popular during February for Western singles who want to escape Valentine's Day. Their Dia dos Namorados—is observed on June 12. The date is celebrated like Valentine’s in other parts of the world with gifts, romantic activities, decorations, and festivities.

Other Portuguese speaking countries, also call February 14 Dia dos Namorados which is translated as "Lovers' Day", "Day of the Enamored", or "Boyfriends' / Girlfriends' Day"— and celebrated the same way Valentine's Day is celebrated in other places in the world.

It was the subject of a Google Doodle in 2011.

Dragobete in Romania is a day for lovers, rather like Valentine's Day. It is a traditional holiday related to spring arrival and the end of the harsh winter, celebrated on February 24 and originating from Dacian times. It is around this time that the birds begin to build their nests and mate. The day is known as "the day when the birds are betrothed."  A common belief in some parts of Romania is that, if during the celebration, you step over your partner's foot, you will have the dominant role in your relationship.

The traditional celebrations of Valentine’s Day were exported by the likes of Hallmark Cards and the commercial interests of the cut flower industry, and adopted wholesale by many Latin American countries, so February 14^th , became Día de San Valentín and is celebrated much like in the U.S.

In Spain, however, it is called Día de los Enamorados which translates literally as “Day of the Enamored” or Día de los Enamoramientos or “Day of Amorousness “
The Día de San Valentín is celebrated in Mexico with the traditional goodies that have come to represent a public acknowledgement of a more intimate relationship between giver and receiver, But, in typical fashion, Mexicans have made the festivities more expansive to include friendship and call February 14th Día del amor y la amistad.

Finland and Estonia have gone one step further: they call Valentine’s Day Ystävänpäivä  and sõbrapäev respectively, both of which translate into Friend’s Day.As the name indicates, this day is more about remembering friends than significant others.

Valentine's Day celebrations of love go beyond western culture. In Japan and Korea, it has become almost an obligation for women to give chocolates, known as giri-choco, to all of their co-workers. A reciprocal day on 14th of March known as White Day has emerged in recent times whereby men are supposed to thank those who remembered them on Valentine's Day with white chocolate or marshmallows. In Korea there is an additional Black Day, held the following month on the 14th of April, for less fortunate men who did not receive gifts on Valentine's Day to gather together to eat Jajangmyun, Chinese style black noodles topped with a black sauce.

In the hindi pantheon, Kamadev the god of love wields a bow of flowers; like Cupid in the Western tradition, the god makes couples fall in love when struck by rose-decorated arrows. India, birthplace of the Kamasutra, the most elaborate treatise on lovemaking and home to the most famous building erected to celebrate enduring love, the Taj Mahal.

But those ancient traditions of love were banished sometime in the Middle Ages: public cultural displays of lovers were frowned upon, sexual suppression was severe and vehement and lovers from unequal castes were punished and occasionally executed.

In the 20^th century Valentine’s Day was eschewed and purists dubbed it as another decadent influence of the west. But in the 90’s economic globalization brought its observance through the invention of special Valentine shows on TV, radio programs with love-filled dedications of love filled and love letter competitions in newspapers.

When Indians do something they tend to overdo it; weeks before Valentine's Day street Romeos reappear everywhere and pretend to enact the Bollywood style boy-meets-girl stories that often degenerate into verbal abuse. This kind of abuse becomes rampant in the days preceding Valentine's Day; to minimize its element of harassment of women, it is imaginatively called eve teasing.

It is to be noted that 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. 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. And supporting the trend of modernity and a drive for political correctness Singles Awareness (or Appreciation) Day (humorously S.A.D.) has been instituted on February 14^th, to serve as an alternative to Valentine's Day for people who not involved in a romantic relationship. On SAD, single people gather to celebrate or commiserate in their single status. Some want to remind romantic couples that they don't need to be in a relationship to celebrate life, organizing single’s events, traveling, volunteering, and gift giving for oneself. On this day many people wear green, as it is the complementary opposite of red. Another popular option is an absence of color (black), to symbolize an absence of celebration.

Be you single or not, in the U.S. or abroad, International Contact, Inc. sends you this Valentine full of appreciation for your great work as an employee or vendor and to our clients for keeping us loving you for 32 years and counting!