Unusual Valentine customs around the world

Have you ever heard of the love story of Romeo and Juliet, written by Shakespeare? It is a tale set in Verona. That's why Valentine's Day is especially magical there. The whole city decorates itself in the color of love, the Lamberti Tower shines in red, and in the center of the city the market forms itself into a huge red heart. If you're heartbroken, you can even write to Juliet in Verona (Club di Giulietta, Vicolo Santa Cecilia 9, I-37121 Verona) and get an answer. Of course, one also goes to the balcony where Juliet would have languished for Romeo. Conclusion? Verona is really worth a visit on Valentine's Day. For more information, visit www.veronissima.com.

In Denmark and Finland, Valentine's Day is a time of mystery. There, Valentine's gifts are sent anonymously, and the recipients must guess the sender. Here, however, the focus is on friendship, which is why people don't give red roses, but bouquets of snowdrops or spring-like flower hearts.

Apart from the fact that apparently the British introduced the tradition of giving roses on Valentine's Day, there are also unusual things. For example, in Norfolk, where Valentine's Day is associated with «Jack Valentine». This knocks on the front door, puts the gifts and disappears. In Wales, on the other hand, «Valentine's Day» is celebrated as early as January 25. This is the day of St. Dwynwen, the patron saint of love. On this occasion, Welsh people give each other wooden love spoons as a sign of affection. This tradition is based on the idea that Welsh sailors at sea carved motifs into wooden spoons to give to their beloved at home.

For more than a decade, Filipinos have celebrated Valentine's Day with mass weddings. These are usually sponsored by local authorities and are often the only way for financially disadvantaged people to afford a wedding celebration.

In Japan, on February 14, only women give gifts: namely, dark chocolate. And not only to their partner or husband, but also to friends, relatives, male colleagues, and bosses. However, husbands or partners get high-quality «honmei-choco», while the others get the cheaper «giri-choco» (mandatory chocolate). Men's turn comes a month later. March 14 is «White Day», and that's when Japanese men give white chocolate to women.

In Taiwan, too, flowers are given on Valentine's Day, but there the color and number of flowers in the bouquet have a message: red roses mean «You mean the world to me», ninety-nine red roses mean «I will always love you», and one hundred and eight red roses mean «Will you marry me?» With such huge bouquets of roses, it is to be hoped that the ladies will provide large flower vases in time.