The culture of love

Love is this never ending dance we have with our hearts. Universally felt every second of the day. Amongst friends, family and lovers. In many countries, there is a special day to celebrate love. While some of us have become cynical towards the commercialization of this natural feeling and high, there are some beautiful, unique and entertaining traditions inspired by this day of love. In Japan you send your unpopular co-workers cheap chocolate, in South Korea you meet with your single friends to eat black noodles and mourn, in Barcelona the lady offers her counterpart a book in return for a rose and in Finland they celebrate Friends day on the 14th February.

The most common “Holiday” is Valentines which earned its name from a legend. In third century Rome, the emperor Claudius II held a strong belief that single soldiers performed better during military duties than married soldiers. He decided to ban marriage. A young saint called Valentine disagreed with this decree and performed secret marriage ceremonies for young lovers. When he was arrested and in jail, he fell in love with the jailor’s daughter and before being executed, wrote her a lover letter, signed “from your Valentine”.

Here is our round-up of the most fascinating and adorable celebrations of love around the world: