Valentine's Day

February 14th is Valentine’s Day in the UK and in many other countries. This is a day when we celebrate love and romance. Learn about Valentine's Day traditions, practise your reading skills and learn some vocabulary.

​Valentine’s Day in the UK
​On this day, people often send cards containing romantic messages. Traditionally, people don’t sign the card and put a question mark instead of their name, or they write “from your Valentine”. Most of the time, people know who the card is from anyway but you might get a card from an anonymous secret admirer on Valentine’s Day!

Other popular gifts are chocolates, jewellery and flowers, especially red roses. People give these gifts to their partners or loved ones. Many couples go out for a romantic dinner or they celebrate at home with a special meal.

In schools, children sometimes make cards or gifts for their parents, or even for their friends. However, Valentine’s Day is mostly a day for adults to celebrate their romantic relationships. It can be a depressing day if you’re single!

The origins of Valentine’s Day
But how did it all start? Nobody knows for sure but there’s one popular legend about a Roman priest called Valentine. The Roman Emperor didn’t allow his soldiers to get married. He needed as many soldiers as he could get and he didn’t want them to leave the army to stay with their wives and families.

But Valentine performed marriages in secret. Eventually, he was caught and put in prison, where he became friends with the jailer’s daughter. Some stories say that she was blind and he healed her. Before he was put to death for disobeying the Emperor, the legend says that he wrote the jailer’s daughter a note signed “From your Valentine”. He was executed on February 14th 270 AD.

This story is probably not true and it has changed and developed over the years. There are other stories that say he was put to death because he was a Christian.

In the past, Saint Valentine’s Day was celebrated by the church but over time the religious meaning was forgotten and it became a day associated with love and romance.

In the UK, the tradition of sending Valentine’s cards became popular at the beginning of the 19th century. Later in that century, special heart-shaped boxes of chocolates were made by Cadbury’s. These traditions spread throughout English-speaking countries.

In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, Valentine’s Day has become popular in many other countries too, just like other special days like Christmas and Hallowe’en. This is probably a result of films, TV, the Internet and foreign travel. 

Nowadays, Valentine’s Day is a completely commercial holiday with no religious significance for most people. Wikipedia says that British people spend £1.3 billion on cards and gifts every year.

Valentine’s Day in other countries
Even though Valentine’s Day has lost its religious significance in the West, it’s banned in some non-Christian countries because of its past association with the Church. 

In Europe and the Americas, many Valentine’s Day traditions are similar to those in the UK. However, in some countries, it’s not just about romantic love but also about family and friends. I once received a Valentine’s Day card from a Canadian friend and I was a bit surprised because we don’t do that here!

In some South American countries, Valentine’s Day isn’t celebrated on February 14th but on a different day. For example, Brazil has a “Lover’s Day” on June 12th. This is because they have a carnival in February so it’s better to separate the two celebrations.

China also has a different tradition. On the seventh day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar, they celebrate the Qixi Festival, an important day for lovers. Niulang and Zhinü got married but their love was forbidden. As a punishment, they, or their stars, are separated in the sky by the Milky Way. But once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh month, birds create a bridge for them so they can meet. 

In Japan, women give chocolate to men on Valentine’s Day. They give it to loved ones, friends and co-workers. On March 14th, White Day, the men who received chocolate should give something to the women. This tradition is also followed in South Korea and some other Asian countries. However, in Taiwan, they do it the opposite way and men give chocolate to women first.

Vocabulary
anonymous = by somebody whose name is not known
legend = an old story which might contain some truth but is probably not completely true
execute = kill somebody as a punishment
commercial holiday = a celebration that allows the shops to make a lot of money
carnival = a celebration in the streets with music, dancing, food and special clothes
the Milky Way = the star system which we can see as a strip of stars at night


​If you enjoyed reading about Valentine's Day, you'll also like my Year in England e-book which you can buy here.
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