Every Feb. 14, Americans shell out an estimated $19 billion for their loved ones in commemoration of Valentine’s Day. This means over 150 million cards will be sent to mailboxes and doorsteps, 100 million roses will be purchased and distributed and $4.5 billion will find its way into the pockets of jewelers across the country.
Like many holidays, Valentine’s Day has become commercialized, with companies across the country capitalizing on consumers’ love-and loneliness. But underneath the heart-shaped boxes of chocolates and dazzling diamond earrings, there lies a message of unifying love that captures the essence of the holiday’s origins. Although its history is disputed, one of the most popular theories contends that Valentine’s Day began with the Bishop Valentine, a Catholic priest who performed secret marriages after Emperor Claudius ll denied Roman men the ability to marry, as he believed it would make them better soldiers. When Claudius found out Valentine was defying his orders, he sentenced him to death. According to legend, Valentine fell in love with the jailor’s daughter while awaiting his execution, slipping her a love note signed, “From your Valentine” shorty before his untimely death. The martyrdom of the doomed bishop lived on, and regardless of its accuracy, people around the world have taken its message to heart.
Valentine’s Day spans across continents, all sharing a universal theme of love. However, like the USA, many countries have taken to putting their own unique twist on the day. In Denmark, for example, couples and friends share pressed white flowers called snowdrops and anonymous joking letters, known as “gaekkebrevs.” According to tradition, if a woman correctly guessed the identity of the sender of a gaekkebrev, she would receive an Easter Egg later in the year. An older Danish tradition involved exchanging “lover’s cards”, transparent cards that revealed an image of a lover presenting a gift to their beloved. In Wales, people exchange wooden spoons in lieu of cards, a tradition that dates back all the way to the 17th century. Welsh men would give their sweethearts detailed wooden spoons filled with intricate drawings of patterns and symbols of significant meaning. Now, the spoons are also given in other special occasions like weddings and anniversaries.
In some countries, traditional gender roles associated with Valentine’s Day are ignored, and even reversed. In Japan, women are the primary gift givers, spoiling loved ones with gifts of chocolate, a custom started by a confectioner’s campaign in 1936. The company intended to target foreigners when it launched a local ad for Valentine’s Day, but the holiday quickly caught on, and by the 1950s other chocolate manufactures began to create their own promotions. In the 1970s, a new marketing idea took off, one that allowed women to purchase chocolates that would represent their various relationships. From the obligatory “giri-choko” chocolate for coworkers to the sentimental “honmei-choko” chocolate for that special someone, Japanese chocolate manufactures succeeded in developing a wide range of symbolic sweets. Just 10 years later, companies came up with a new campaign, deeming March 14 as “White Day,” where men would reciprocate the gifts given on Valentine’s Day with their own offers of jewelry, clothing, and, of course, chocolate. White Day became another winner, and its success spread to other countries, like South Korea. Along with Valentine’s Day and White Day, South Korea also boasts “Black Day,” an unofficial holiday for singles who come together and celebrate over bowls of black bean paste noodles known as jajangmyeon.
Despite the differences in how the holiday is celebrated, Valentine’s Day around the world translates into themes of appreciation and commemoration for the loved ones in our lives. Whether you spend it with friends, family or a fiancee or significant other, take the time to recognize the versatility and universality of love, that complex emotion that connects us, defines us, and has the power to unite us.

Jasmine Weis is a senior at Benicia High School.

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