Happy Valentine’s Day! 💓💞 Today, February 14, marks the day of love and companionship worldwide. During this celebration, exchanging candy, flowers, chocolates, and gifts with loved ones is a common way to show love and appreciation. This celebration is often linked to Cupid, a cherub who launches arrows of love. Cupid is often compared to the Greek God of Love, Eros. This celebration dates back to Rome, where there was a well-known festival called Lupercalia. During this festival, people would celebrate love and fertility. This holiday became linked with St. Valentine, a Christian martyr, as time passed. The tradition of giving flowers on this day originated from the Victorian Era when sending flowers became popular to express one’s love and emotion. Over the years, this holiday has evolved from just becoming a day for couples to more of a universal celebration of friends and friendships. For example, “Galentines” has become very popular as social media influences us, and it is a tradition that has started where friends have their own type of Valentine’s events meant to celebrate and empower women’s friendships.

Did you know that around 150 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged annually in the United States? In Finland, Valentine’s Day is called “Friendship Day” and solely focuses on friendships; cool, right? Asian countries have traditions different from the United States for this special day. For example, South Korea has a unique tradition of celebrating this day for two days: on Valentine’s Day, women give gifts to men, and on March 14 (White Day), the men give gifts to women. Japan has the tradition of women giving chocolates to men, and all the different types of chocolates have unique meanings behind them! So, whether you celebrate this day romantically or in friendship, Valentine’s Day is about spreading love and positivity, so show appreciation and love to those you treasure!💗💖