Hand heart. Carmen Fiano - https://www.flickr.com/photos/53812099@N04/14763863277/
The hand heart was made popular by Korean pop groups, and was a sign of friendship made when the north and south Korean leaders met and were photographed together on a mountaintop. It costs nothing, creates no litter, and is a good international sign because it is universal so you don't need to speak another language.
Singapore Valentines - Be Prepared
SPRINGTIME
Februa is Latin for to cleanse, or to clean. Spring cleaning.
In the old calendar mid February was when some birds started courting matching, nesting and mating and work started in the vineyards.
In ancient times in Israel girls would wear white dresses and dance in the vineyard where boys would be waiting to propose marriage.
But marketing has amazing success. If you can create greetings cards, fill restaurants, sell jewellery and gifts and cookie cutters and cups with messages about Valentine's Day or hearts, you will sell them to children and adults, the young and the old, the single and married, anybody who wants to part with money for a message or a product with red and hearts.
ITALY, ROME & VALENTINE - La Festa di San Valentino
In Italy you wish Somebody Buon San Valentino.
More than one Christian called Valentine, a popular name was martyred, and various churches claim to have bits of the saints bodies.
February14 is the day associated with Valentine's Day by Roman Catholics. the Eastern Orthodox celebrate In July 6th or 30th.
At the Central London Wine Society on Feb 11th Three Valentine's Day wines come to the UK from Europe, notably from France, Italy and Spain. Let's start with Italy.
ITALY
In Italy keys are given, representing the key to my heart, unlocking.
February is is named after the Roman God Februas and was the spring cleaning month.
ITALIAN FOOD
The Italian for biscuit is biscotti.
FRANCE
In France you might celebrate Valentine's Day with dinner, or a dinner on a boat on the Seine in Paris, or a helicopter ride. Your celebratory wine would be Champagne, from the Champagne region.
Macaroons.
SPAIN, Tapas and Turron
Feliz San Valentín - Happy Valentine's Day. Feliz dia de San Valentin.
In Mexico they say, Happy Valentine's and friendship day.
Delicious Drink
The Spanish white wine equivalent of sparkling Champagne but cheaper is Cava, originally from cellars or stores in caves.
Favourite Food
Turron - Sweet
A Spanish gift might be turron, which is nougat, made from almonds, honey and egg white. A modern version is chocolate covered.
Tapas - Savoury
The Spanish food served in bars with wine is tapas. Originally supposedly tiny pieces of bread or sliced meat put on the top of glasses to keep off the flies. Or to keep off sand blown from the beach, says another story. The translation offered is lid or cover. To make an alliterative reminder, I think of the word top.
We ordered tapas in a bar in summer 2025 in Bilbao, the ferry port on the northern coast on the east (Santander is on the west). We thought it was expensive and would be the bite or two size of cocktail party canapes, but it was a large portion, as filling as a hamburger. Maybe pintchos (pintxos, which is plural, from pinchar to stab) not a pinch but sometimes skewered horizontally or toothpicked vertically to hold it all together.
You can also get dessert tapas.
UK
Chaucer, an early influencer, wrote a poem about Valentine's Day to celebrate the anniversary of the engagement of the 15 year old King of England.
In the UK Cadbury's introduced heart shapes boxes of chocolates.
Nowadays the innovation is that the chocolates themselves are heart shaped.
|Valentine's Day is big business in the UK, the USA and Singapore which has four languages mainly English, also Chinese, meaning Mandarin.
IRELAND
|Dublin in Ireland has a church with a relic and those without any love can pray to find love.
WALES
The Welsh celebrate on January 25th, recalling the tragic story of Welsh princess
You can make a heart sign with your thumbs and first fingers.
Happy VALENTINES DAY
Italy
Shakespeare's Ophelia mentions St Valentine's day in the play Hamlet.
AMERICA
American Valentines In Schools For Schoolchildren
When I went to live in America our son came home from school with a birthday card for Mummy, and he wanted to make a card for his teacher, which he said all the schoolchildren were doing. I was surprised, because in those days in the UK Valentine's Day cards were only for the unmarried and courting.
Search online and you can find recordings of Valentine's day songs for the age of toddlers upwards. In America children give friendship cards to teachers. Finland also has friendship days.
ASIA
Valentine's Day month. I recall being in Singapore for the month of February and visiting several Toastmasters International Speakers' clubs. At the first Valentines theme club meeting I attended, the table topics master asked, What would you do on Valentine's Day? What is the best restaurant for Valentine's Day? Where would you go, what was the best gift, and so on. She/he - I forget which - was looking for ideas.
In Malaysia Nowadays The Muslim movement has opposed valentines day, because it is western and encourages sex outside marriage, fornication, adultery and immorality. To counter this view, Valentines Day is being promoted as a time for married couples to celebrate with date nights, buying expensive champagne, boxes of chocolates, and flowers. Plus of course clothes with hearts, and large cards.
In Japan women workers give chocolates to their co- workers, and a month later the men reciprocate by giving chocolates to women.
INDIA
The Hindus are against pubic displays of human affection. Instead, they tried to introduce hug a cow day. This strikes me and struck many others as an against the animal rights of the cow to refuse, besides being impractical and sometimes downright dangerous activity. Cows are too large to hug and do not necessarily reciprocate nor cooperate.
Useful Websites
February
Valentine's Day
A neat summary about Valentine's Day
ITALY
To make your own heart shaped biscuits, heart shaped cookie cutters (biscuit cutters we would say in the UK
SPAIN
Spanish turron
