Every day should be the day of love, but Valentine's Day is a special occasion for millions of people around the world who take the opportunity to celebrate shared affection together.
Although it is seen by many as a celebration for purely commercial purposes, the day dedicated to lovers is, in reality, the result of a tradition dating back several centuries and originating in the religious feast of Valentine's Day, the patron saint of love.
Here is a cultural journey to discover five curious European traditions linked to this anniversary, proposed by Babbel The
country you go, the Valentine you find
It is no surprise that
Valentine's Day has its origins in one of the most romantic countries in the world: the Italy.
On February 15, in fact, the ancient Romans used to pay homage to the gods and invoke them to ask for protection for the crops and livestock, as well as greater prosperity and fertility.
The previous evening, which corresponds to today's Valentine's Day, women and men put their names in an urn and a child drew them at random, forming couples who would then participate in the party with dances and songs and live together in intimacy for a whole year.
In 496, Pope Gelasius annulled these pagan "rites", replacing them with the day commemorating the martyr Valentine.
What was practiced in England in the eighteenth century certainly belongs to the list of the most curious traditions.
On Valentine's Eve, women used to fix, with a pin, five bay leaves sprinkled with rose water on the pillow: one was placed in the center and the others in the corners.
Before going to sleep, women recited the following prayer: "
Happy Valentine, be generous with me and allow me to see my true love in a dream
", hoping that the spell would induce the future husband to appear in a dream.
In other countries, however, the Valentine's Day party has a less long-lived tradition - such as, for example, in Denmark, where it only began to take hold in the 1990s.
If for many Valentine's Day is synonymous with flowers, chocolates and heart-shaped gifts, for the Danes it is common practice to deliver a letter to the loved one - called "
valentinsbrev
" ("letter from Valentine") - in which to your feelings.
This tradition could be traced back to a legend according to which San Valentino would have fallen in love, during his detention, with the daughter of his jailer, sending her, just before the execution (which took place on February 14 of the year 347 in Rome), a last love card - signed “Your Valentine”.
Some countries of the world do not celebrate Valentine's Day on February 14, but have equivalent celebrations at other times of the year:
● Brazil: “Dia dos Namorados” (“Lovers' Day”) is celebrated on June 12, the eve of day dedicated to St. Anthony, the patron saint of marriage.
● Argentina: in addition to Valentine's Day, the first week of July is also celebrated, "la Semana de la Dulzura" ("the Week of Sweetness"), a period in which kisses are "given" in exchange for sweets and thoughts ( in fact, it is also known by the name of “la Semana de la Golosina”, which means “Week of Sweets”).
This is an initiative created in 1989 by the "Asociación de Distribuidores de Golosinas, Galletitas y Afines" to increase the number of sales in the confectionery sector: today "una golosina por un beso" ("a sweet for a kiss") has become an unmissable event in Argentine society.
● China: called “七夕” (in the Latin alphabet: “Qixi” and translatable as “The evening of seven”), the “festival of love” is celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh month of the Chinese calendar.
Festival of very ancient origins (celebrated since the Chinese classical age, between 206 BC and 220 AD), has its origins in a legend featuring two unfortunate lovers (those who in English would be called "star-crossed lovers"), forced to meet only once a year due to the different social class.
● Czech Republic: Although Valentine's Day has gained in popularity over the past few decades, May 1st is actually the day Czechs traditionally celebrate love in all its forms.
Its origin is curious: it seems, in fact, that the beginning of May was chosen in honor of one of the masterpieces of the Czech romantic period, "Máj" (precisely, "May"), written by one of the Prague poets most important, Karel Hynek Mácha;
on the evening of May 1st, it is common to make a pilgrimage to Petřín Park, where there is a statue in honor of the Czech poet of love par excellence.
