Whether you believe Valentine’s Day is a complete and utter corporate scam or a romantic holiday to look forward to, February 14 is a day for people all over the world to reaffirm their love for their soulmate or significant other. No matter the location, the romantic festival of Valentine’s Day is celebrated with joy, love, and gratitude. All over the world, people celebrate Valentine’s Day by showing their deepest love to sweethearts, spouses, and special people in their lives; however, traditions and customs vary greatly depending on the location. In the United States, Valentine’s Day has been commercialized to no end. Cards decorated with hearts and pink and red galore fill the aisles at just about every store in America as soon as the jolly fat man touches back down at North Pole.. Celebrations differ from dinner and dance parties to private outings and can be either elaborate or very simple. In America, the opinions on Valentine’s Day are quite divided. Some believe it’s just another day for companies to make millions of dollars, while others buy into the idea of the love that the holiday brings.

Taking a look around the world, it is easy to see the different Valentine’s Day traditions and celebrations. For instance, in Australia, men are expected to take the holiday much more seriously than women. They are known to express their love more and be more publicly romantic. Men are more apt to buy cards and gifts than women are in Australia. In Great Britain, unmarried women are traditionally supposed to pin four bay leaves to the corners of their pillows and eat salted eggs with the yokes removed on the eve of Valentine’s Day. This tradition is supposed to help improve the chance of a relationship for these young women. Valentine’s Day traditions in Scotland and Italy are taken very seriously and often times lead to marriages or engagement announcements. In Japan, Valentine’s Day is celebrated on both February 14 and March 14. On February 14, the woman is supposed to give the male a gift, and on March 14, White Day, the male is supposed to give the female a gift. It is custom for the female to chose the gift she receives. Chocolate is the most popular choice; however, many Japanese women feel that store-bought candy is not a gift of true love. Therefore, many males typically make the chocolate candies by hand. In Germany, courting is a popular tradition. It is common for the young man to give his sweetheart flowers. On the other hand, Estonia is a country that embraces Valentine’s Day as “Friend’s Day”. This ensures that single people aren’t excluded from the festivities. In Estonia, the “friend zone” is embraced with outstretched arms, much like your nonexistent soulmate. Instead, they emphasize non-romantic love such as friendships and family relationships.

So whether you believe the holiday is a waste of time and cliche, or that you have been struck by Cupid’s arrow, Valentine’s Day is widely celebrated around the world. Perhaps everyone participates out of social conformity or just plain guilt, or maybe they truly love the spirit of the festivities. Either way, February 14th is internationally celebrated as a day filled with love and happiness. Whether you like the holiday or not, go out and buy your soul mate a box of cheap chocolates or a heart-shaped necklace and say those three words. And if all else fails, remember you can always move to Estonia where singles are never left out.