How to say, "Happy Valentine's Day" in other cultures

By Hannah Bernstein

February 14. It is that time again. We celebrate Valentine’s Day all over the world, but each country has its own traditions for expressing love. What people may not know is that the original Valentine’s Day started in France. In Europe, birds and other animals pair off and mate on February 14. In addition, the Duke of Orleans is considered to have written the first love letters when he was imprisoned. Those letters became known as the cartes d'amitie or Valentine’s Day cards.

France

According to Jordan Moeny, author of Valentine’s Day, the French Way, another tradition in France that used to be popular was the loterie d'amour, or drawing for love. People would go to neighboring houses and take turns pairing off. Men who did not like their match would leave their match to find another. The unmatched women would gather together afterwards for a bonfire. At the bonfire, the women would burn pictures of the men who wronged them, swear and insult the opposite sex. Unfortunately, the event became uncontrollable due to participants building bonfires and aggressively insulting each other, which left the French government no choice but to ban the tradition.

England

Norfolk, England takes Valentine's Day as seriously as Americans would with Christmas. Starting February 13, Valentine’s eve, people fill a bag with presents to give away before heading to their lover’s home. When they arrive, they knock on the door and leave their present before running off. This ritual became known as Jack Valentine. The mysterious Mr. or Ms. Valentine disappear into thin air after knocking at the door and dropping off their gifts. An example of the tradition is in 2000, one Jack Valentine surprised people by having them find biscuits with heart stickers stuck to their doors, gates and cars.

Brazil

On the other side of the globe, in Brazil, the February 14th celebration is skipped and instead celebrated on June 12. The Brazilian holiday is called Dia dos Namorados, or "Lovers' Day,” where in addition to the same stereotypical exchanging of flowers and chocolates, music festivals and performances are held throughout the country. The celebrations are not just reserved for couples, but are also celebrated with friends and families. Then, the next day is Saint Anthony's Day, which honors the patron saint of marriage. Single women perform rituals called “simpatias” in hopes that St. Anthony will bring them a husband.

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South Africa

On another continent, South Africans celebrate Valentine’s Day with festivals, flowers and other tokens of love. It's also customary for women in South Africa to wear, literally wear their hearts on their sleeves by pinning the names of their love interest on their shirtsleeves. This tradition is a nod to an ancient bloody Roman tradition known as Lupercalia.

Although most of the traditions of Lupercalia are no longer celebrated, some historians believe the holiday is actually an offshoot of Lupercalia. Lupercalia is the complete opposite of our modern day celebration as it was a bloody, violent and sexually-charged celebration awash with animal sacrifice, random matchmaking and coupling in the hopes of warding off evil spirits and infertility.

China

An ocean away, in China, the Chinese equivalent to Valentine’s Day is Qixi, or the Seventh Night Festival. Qixi is celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month each year. Although the holiday is more traditionally celebrated in rural China, Chinese people usually celebrate by giving flowers, chocolates or other presents to their sweethearts. Some traditional celebrations include women demonstrating their needlework or carving skills, worshipping the weaver fairy by setting out a table of offerings and praying for a good husband and life. They also honor the oxen and eat "Skill Fruits,"which are fried, thin pastries of different shapes.

Japan

Another country that celebrates Valentine's Day is Japan. According to Caroline Morse Teel, author of 8 Weirdest Romantic Traditions in the World, Japanese women give chocolates to all the men in their lives. However, the reasonings behind the chocolates are different depending on her interest in the man. For those that the women are not interested in, they are given obligation chocolates. For the lucky men who the women are interested in, they receive prospective-winner chocolates.

On March 14, Japanese women receive gifts worth two to three times the value of the Valentine's Day chocolates they gave. The day is called White Day as the tradition was started by the National Confectionery Industry Association when it was looking to sell marshmallows and white chocolate.