On Friday 14 February, people around the world who observe Valentine’s Day will shower each other with affection, whether in the form of cards, gifts or token gestures.
While it is widely customary on Valentine’s to buy a present such as a box of chocolates or a card with a heartfelt message, traditions vary across the globe.
From Brazil to Japan, here are some of the conventional practises that take place in commemoration of Valentine’s Day.
Brazil
In Brazil, Valentine’s day is not celebrated on 14 February.
Instead Brazilians celebrate a different holiday in June called Dia dos Namorados.
Dia dos Namorados, which translates to mean “Lovers Day”, is celebrated on 12 June, with the date purposely chosen to coincide with the eve of Saint Anthony’s Day, tourism company Brazilian Experience explains.
According to the organisation, in Brazil it is believed that Saint Anthony “blessed young couples with prosperous marriage”.
“The reason why the traditional Valentine’s Day is not celebrated in Brazil is because it commonly falls during Carnival Week, which is one of the biggest events in the country,” the firm adds.
France
While it has become customary for people around the world to write Valentine’s cards, according to online travel resource Lost in France, the tradition may stem back to 15th century France.
The company says the first recorded Valentine’s Day card was sent by the French Duke of Orleans, who sent letters and poems to his wife in France while being kept prisoner in the Tower of London in 1415.
There also used to a Valentine’s tradition in France called “une loterie d’amour”, which is now banned by the country’s government.
The custom, which translates to mean “drawing for love“, would involve “single people of all ages entering houses that faced opposite each other and calling through the windows till eventually they paired off with each other”, Lost in France outlines.
“The male suitor if not particularly attracted to his partner would leave her and the women left single would build a large bonfire and ceremoniously burn images of the men that had deserted them whilst hurling abuse and curses at the ungrateful men.”
The Philippines
In recent years, it has become increasingly popular for mass weddings to be held in the Philippines on Valentine’s Day.
This annual tradition is carried out in order to help betrothed who would otherwise be unable to afford to pay for their own wedding ceremonies.
In February 2016, 350 couples were married in a mass civil wedding held at a basketball gymnasium in Manila, the capital of the Philippines.
According to Agencia EFE, the city’s civil registrar’s office paid approximately £14,482 for the couples to tie the knot.
“Many of these people are here because they want to formalize their relationship, but have no money to even pay a church to marry,” said Joey Cabresa, director of Manila’s registrar’s office.
China
In China, Qixi Festival, otherwise known as the Double Seventh Festival, is regarded as the country’s version of the Western celebration of Valentine’s day, according to tour company China Highlights.
This year, the festival is taking place on Tuesday 25 August, on the seventh day of the seventh month on the Chinese lunisolar calendar.
1/23
Kazuhiko Kobayashi, 80, and his wife Mieko Kobayashi, 73, pose for a photograph at their music shop named Ameyoko Rhythm, specialised for Enka, traditional Japanese popular ballad, in Tokyo’s Ameyoko shopping district, Japan, February 8, 2018. “I met her in 1963, 55 years ago. She was a classmate of my younger sister. One day she came over to my house and I took a shine to her because she was so charming. Since that day on, I called her every day. In the beginning, she did not seem to be interested in me, but I conveyed my passion to her. On our first date, I waited at a meeting place for an hour. It turned out she had been advised by her mother and older sister to be late for an hour to see whether I was serious about her. My feelings got through to her, and we married on October 15, 1964, five days after the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics. “
REUTERS
2/23
Bride Amornrat Ruamsin (L), 27, who is a transgender, holds up her five-month-old daughter with her groom Pitchaya Kachainrum (R), 16, during their wedding ceremony organised by a local TV show, in Bangkok, Thailand, February 9, 2018. The ceremony is not legally-binding as Pitchaya in under 17, the legal age for marriage in Thailand. The couple plan to officially wed after her birthday. “I’ve had relationships with men before, but it was not that good and I was heartbroken many times. I met Pitchaya on Facebook and I first sent her a message to introduce myself. We fell in love with each other. After living together for more then a year, we agreed to have a baby. So now we have five-month-old daughter and today we got married as our parents wanted. This is the happiest day of my life,” Amornrat said. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha SEARCH “GLOBAL LOVE” FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH “WIDER IMAGE” FOR ALL STORIES.
REUTERS
3/23
Dmitry Shamovich and his wife Anastasia Kuzmenkova play with the dog Amur at their homestead Zaimka Leshego in the village of Sosnovy Bor, Belarus, February 7, 2018. “Four years ago I was here, at the homestead for the first time – we arrived with other birdwatchers to build artificial nests for owls. And I met Dmitry, the owner of homestead, for the first time, here. Later we met again, when I arrived to be a volunteer in a project related to capercaillie. After that we made more projects together and one day I understood I fell in love with him. It was mutual,” said Anastasia. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko SEARCH “GLOBAL LOVE” FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH “WIDER IMAGE” FOR ALL STORIES.
REUTERS
4/23
Jenny Ostrom, 37, a director of photography and her husband Chad Ostrom, 37, a director, stand in McCarren Park, near their home in the Brooklyn borough of New York, U.S., February 8, 2018. “We met the first day of college in the middle of the heartland, Kansas. My friends and I thought it noble to help the arriving freshman girl students move into the dorms. There was Jenny, unpacking boxes with her family and in classic, comedy double-take action I walked by her room, stopped, and walked right back to it. Through three states, long-distance dating, high times, low moments and 19 years later, we now share a home, a little girl and a life,” said Chad. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
REUTERS
5/23
Rute Magalhaes, 33, and Filipe Alves, 38, are seen through a large format camera while they pose for a portrait at their studio in Lisbon, Portugal, February 8, 2018. “We met 12 years ago on the Internet. Photography brought us together and we fell in love. Then we started a studio to help others fall in love with the magic of photos,” Rute said.
REUTERS
6/23
Asha Ahuja, 71, a housewife poses for a portrait with her husband Chandrabhan Ahuja, 73, a businessman inside their house in Mumbai, India, February 7, 2018. Asha said: “It was the summer of 1971 when I met him for the first time. It was our engagement day which was just six days before our marriage. We didn’t talk to each other until we got married. I was a free girl and used to go to jam sessions and enjoy time with friends. My life became completely different after I married him. He comes from a religiously conservative family. From a family of four, I had to live in a joint family of 20. I heard from my parents that he was also a religious person. I got to know about his devotional side when he went to a temple at 5 AM after spending our first night together. When I woke up I was alone. I sacrificed a lot after our marriage to adjust to a new environment. We are from a generation where we had to make a lot of compromises to make the marriage work, unlike today. “
REUTERS
7/23
Hayes Mehana (R), 78, and Om Hany, 60, pose for a photograph at a vegetable market in Cairo, Egypt, February 12, 2018. The couple have been married for 42 years and have 12 children. Their love started at a vegetable market and now they dedicate their time to their 50-year-old vegetable shop business which they both worked to expand. “Our families don’t know about Valentine’s Day but we built a big family as it was our dream. With my wife, every day is like a festival, not just one day,” Hayes said.
REUTERS
8/23
Aviva Ephrati (L), 84, retired kindergarten teacher, and Israel Ephrati, 87, retired supervisor at a higher educational institution, sit in the living room at the protective housing in Kfar Saba, north of Tel Aviv, Israel, February 8, 2018. The couple managed an art gallery in Haifa for some years. They’ve been married for 64 years. “In 1950 I met Israel by accident, who was a soldier then, when I was trying to push away another young man who wanted to date me which I didn’t want during an evening out in Jerusalem. After that young man left the scene, Israel asked me to date him and I refused, I was willing to be a friend of him but I didn’t want anything romantic. In the next four years, I almost got married to another guy who disappeared two weeks before the wedding after his father gave him an ultimatum after finding out that my father was not originally Jewish.”
REUTERS
9/23
Nhuchhe Bahadur Amatya, 76, a retired accountant at Nepal Electricity Authority along with his wife Raywoti Devi Amatya, 74, a housewife, pose for a picture as they sit inside their shop in Lalitpur, Nepal, February 4, 2018. Nhuchhe was 17 and Raywoti was 15 when they had their arranged marriage 59 years ago. “I saw Raywoti for the first time at my home after we officially got married, during the wedding her face was covered with a Ghumto (veil),” said Nchuchhe.
REUTERS
10/23
Daniela, 37, a Berlin-born social educator, and her partner Arda, 39, a German architect with Turkish roots, pose in front of Altes Museum in Berlin, Germany, February 4, 2018. “I saw Arda in 2015 at an exhibition at the museum. And he recognised me as well. A smile from both sides. One hour later we were sitting together and having a cup of coffee. Now we live together in a nice flat,” said Daniela.
REUTERS
11/23
Alejandra, 44, an education policy consultant and Razhy, 48, a journalist and a human rights activist, walk on a street in the Coyoacan neighbourhood, in Mexico City, Mexico, February 9, 2018. The couple met in Mexico City in 1998, after Razhy was kidnapped and quit his job as a director of a weekly magazine in Oaxaca, a state south of the country. Months later, Alejandra traveled to Europe to study. “I went to study in France, I returned to the country and all went cold, my family did not accept our relationship. Finally, four years later, we were both without partners and decided to meet again. We got married in the neighbourhood of Coyoacan, the neighbourhood where we walked together and we met again after all those years,” said Alejandra.
REUTERS
12/23
Pramodini Roul, 24, an acid attack survivor and a campaigner at Chhanv, an NGO that supports acid attack victims, and her partner Saroj Sahoo, 26, a manager at Chhanv share a moment at the “Sheroes” home for acid attack victims in Noida, India, February 8, 2018. The couple met at a nursing home in Cuttack, India, where Pramodini was undergoing treatment for acid burns. Saroj was friends with the lady nurse who was treating Pramodini and would visit his friend at the nursing home while she was treating Pramodini, which is how the two met for the first time, on April 8, 2014. “On September 14, 2017, after an eye surgery, I was flying with Saroj and suddenly started seeing things clearly. That was the first time I saw Saroj’s face. I had never imagined that I would be able to see Saroj in my lifetime,” said Pramodini. The couple is scheduled to hold a ring ceremony on ValentineâÃôs Day in Lucknow.
REUTERS
13/23
Zakir Omur, 58, and his wife Nurgul Omur, 53, pose at their home in Bogatepe village in Kars province, Turkey, February 8, 2018. Zakir is a farmer and Nurgul is a housewife. They have been married for 29 years and have two sons. “When I was young my mother wanted me to marry, I thought it was too early but traditions came first, then young people’s will. They said there was a girl, Nurgul, that could be my wife. It was impossible to meet a girl anywhere else.”
REUTERS
14/23
Mezbah Ul Aziz (L), 34, and Mausumi Iqbal, 33, pose for a photo in a coffee shop where they hang out on a regular basis in Dhaka, Bangladesh, February 7, 2018. “Our story was not love-at-first-sight type. In fact, we used to remain at opposite ends of the class mostly when we met first, but you know about magic, it always happens with surprises. Both of us are dentists and married for eight years now. Before that, we met at our dental school on June 1, 2004, on the first day of the class. We both were invited to give a short speech before our classmates and teachers. I went first, and later him. We never admitted, but maybe we felt some spark on the first day, but it was definitely not love. Later, we chose different paths, chose different reading partners for daily life. But fate brought us together after a year and a half.”
REUTERS
15/23
Haidar Ali Moracho, 20, and Coral Ibanez Blanco, 23, pose for a picture at the Moor’s Field garden (Campo del Moro) in Madrid, Spain, February 7, 2018. Haidar, a transgender young man who’s in his second year of Asian and African Studies at Madrid’s Autonoma University and Coral, currently looking for a job, have been dating for seven years. “A friend of mine told me there was a girl who liked Dragon Ball’s Vegeta character and wanted to become a boy. She put us in touch virtually and we spent the following year video calling each other before we were able to meet in person in Madrid,” said Coral.
REUTERS
16/23
Tattoo artists, Kathriel Zambrano (L), 23, and Yohanna Gonzalez, 28, pose for a portrait in front of the bar El Molino where they first met, in Caracas, Venezuela, February 9, 2018. Yohanna was working at a bar for an event called InkFest. She was piercing. Meanwhile, Kathriel was being tattooed in front of a stand where she was working. “I didn’t give him much attention, because, at the time, I was with another person,” said Yohanna. He didn’t stop looking at her and tried some pick up lines. “When I saw him, he impressed me because he has very big eyes and the colour was very impressive but nothing else. I left early.” One day he texted and asked her what she was doing and if he could go and visit. “He bought me a bottle of anise liquor, but I told him, ‘honey, I don’t drink, you can buy me a chocolate if you want.’
REUTERS
17/23
Huang Fusheng (R), 83, and his wife Tang Lanfang, 80, pose with their wedding photo taken in 1958, at Prince Fu Mansion built during Qing dynasty, where they worked together from 1965 to 1992, in central Beijing, China, February 7, 2018. Introduced to one another by their supervisor in 1956, the couple worked together at the mansion, which housed an office under the China National Publications Import and Export Corporation, for 27 years. “I think our marriage is still fresh because we believed in forgiving and understanding each other,” said Lanfang.
REUTERS
18/23
Cathal King, 31, a veterinarian, and Jessica O’Connor, 28, a final-year veterinary student in Budapest, pose for a photograph with dogs on Rossbeigh Beach near the County Kerry village of Rossbeigh, Ireland, February 4, 2018. “We met playing tag rugby in Killarney. We’re both very active people. We do adventure races, hiking, and love to travel. We’ve been together three and a half years. I grew up back here in Rossbeigh so that’s the main reason we’re here,” said Cathal. Dogs are Indi, the Spaniel, which they own together and Pippa, the Jack Russell, Jessica’s mother’s dog.
REUTERS
19/23
Huang Chenfeng (R), 63, and her husband Zheng Dingguo, 63, pose for a picture at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center in Shanghai, China, February 6, 2018. Both originally come from Wenzhou in Zhejiang province. Huang has been taking care of her husband around the clock since he was admitted to the hospital for cancer treatment. The couple had an arranged marriage, organised by their parents in 1972.
REUTERS
20/23
Noor Djait, 31, an architect and Ismail Benmiled, 36, a businessman pose for a photograph with their three-year-old son Said and four-month-old daughter Malek at their house in Tunis, Tunisia, February 9, 2018. Noor and Ismail lived on the same road and went to the same schools growing up, but never became close until they met in a nightclub when she was 17. “That night was the first time we really made eye contact with each other, the first time I talked to him. I remember I took off my shoes to dance on the table. At the end I only found one, Ismail found the other. He brought it to me two days later, like Cinderella.”
REUTERS
21/23
Oladipupo Baruwa, 45, an investment promotion officer and Funke Baruwa, 43, a gender and development expert, pose for a photograph at home in Abuja, Nigeria, February 9, 2018. “Well, he is persistent. We met at a church on the first Sunday service of the year 2000 and he followed me home after every service from that day on until about two years later. I just loved his persistence and the fact that he didn’t want to give up,” said Funke. After the birth of their first daughter in 2013 the pair made a commitment that, whatever lay ahead, they would face it together. “For me that has always been the unifying¿ä factor… Marriage is a commitment, it is a hard work and when you are willing to work at it, you get better,”¿äBaruwa said.
REUTERS
22/23
Tony Wakaiga, 18, an art and design student and Suzzy Konje, 18, a hospitality management student pose for a photograph after their date as they walk along Banda Street in Nairobi, Kenya, February 11, 2018. Tony met Suzzy at a modelling photo session on Banda Street and they soon started dating. “We have been very good friends for a long time and our passion for each other has matured like wine. This Valentine’s Day, I have a special surprise for Suzzy that will knock her heart out,” said Tony.
REUTERS
23/23
Yolanda Zuniga, 66, and her husband Antonio Carrillo, 65, pose for a photograph in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, February 11, 2018. “He has been my sweetheart since I was 14 years old. We lived in the same neighbourhood. I always loved his sense of humour and we got married when I was 19. My parents wouldn’t let me go out dancing. Dancing has become our hobby. We go dancing on Saturdays and Sundays in downtown Ciudad Juarez, dressed as Pachucos. We have five children, 13 grandchildren and six great grandchildren,” said Yolanda.
REUTERS
1/23
Kazuhiko Kobayashi, 80, and his wife Mieko Kobayashi, 73, pose for a photograph at their music shop named Ameyoko Rhythm, specialised for Enka, traditional Japanese popular ballad, in Tokyo’s Ameyoko shopping district, Japan, February 8, 2018. “I met her in 1963, 55 years ago. She was a classmate of my younger sister. One day she came over to my house and I took a shine to her because she was so charming. Since that day on, I called her every day. In the beginning, she did not seem to be interested in me, but I conveyed my passion to her. On our first date, I waited at a meeting place for an hour. It turned out she had been advised by her mother and older sister to be late for an hour to see whether I was serious about her. My feelings got through to her, and we married on October 15, 1964, five days after the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics. “
REUTERS
2/23
Bride Amornrat Ruamsin (L), 27, who is a transgender, holds up her five-month-old daughter with her groom Pitchaya Kachainrum (R), 16, during their wedding ceremony organised by a local TV show, in Bangkok, Thailand, February 9, 2018. The ceremony is not legally-binding as Pitchaya in under 17, the legal age for marriage in Thailand. The couple plan to officially wed after her birthday. “I’ve had relationships with men before, but it was not that good and I was heartbroken many times. I met Pitchaya on Facebook and I first sent her a message to introduce myself. We fell in love with each other. After living together for more then a year, we agreed to have a baby. So now we have five-month-old daughter and today we got married as our parents wanted. This is the happiest day of my life,” Amornrat said. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha SEARCH “GLOBAL LOVE” FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH “WIDER IMAGE” FOR ALL STORIES.
REUTERS
3/23
Dmitry Shamovich and his wife Anastasia Kuzmenkova play with the dog Amur at their homestead Zaimka Leshego in the village of Sosnovy Bor, Belarus, February 7, 2018. “Four years ago I was here, at the homestead for the first time – we arrived with other birdwatchers to build artificial nests for owls. And I met Dmitry, the owner of homestead, for the first time, here. Later we met again, when I arrived to be a volunteer in a project related to capercaillie. After that we made more projects together and one day I understood I fell in love with him. It was mutual,” said Anastasia. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko SEARCH “GLOBAL LOVE” FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH “WIDER IMAGE” FOR ALL STORIES.
REUTERS
4/23
Jenny Ostrom, 37, a director of photography and her husband Chad Ostrom, 37, a director, stand in McCarren Park, near their home in the Brooklyn borough of New York, U.S., February 8, 2018. “We met the first day of college in the middle of the heartland, Kansas. My friends and I thought it noble to help the arriving freshman girl students move into the dorms. There was Jenny, unpacking boxes with her family and in classic, comedy double-take action I walked by her room, stopped, and walked right back to it. Through three states, long-distance dating, high times, low moments and 19 years later, we now share a home, a little girl and a life,” said Chad. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
REUTERS
5/23
Rute Magalhaes, 33, and Filipe Alves, 38, are seen through a large format camera while they pose for a portrait at their studio in Lisbon, Portugal, February 8, 2018. “We met 12 years ago on the Internet. Photography brought us together and we fell in love. Then we started a studio to help others fall in love with the magic of photos,” Rute said.
REUTERS
6/23
Asha Ahuja, 71, a housewife poses for a portrait with her husband Chandrabhan Ahuja, 73, a businessman inside their house in Mumbai, India, February 7, 2018. Asha said: “It was the summer of 1971 when I met him for the first time. It was our engagement day which was just six days before our marriage. We didn’t talk to each other until we got married. I was a free girl and used to go to jam sessions and enjoy time with friends. My life became completely different after I married him. He comes from a religiously conservative family. From a family of four, I had to live in a joint family of 20. I heard from my parents that he was also a religious person. I got to know about his devotional side when he went to a temple at 5 AM after spending our first night together. When I woke up I was alone. I sacrificed a lot after our marriage to adjust to a new environment. We are from a generation where we had to make a lot of compromises to make the marriage work, unlike today. “
REUTERS
7/23
Hayes Mehana (R), 78, and Om Hany, 60, pose for a photograph at a vegetable market in Cairo, Egypt, February 12, 2018. The couple have been married for 42 years and have 12 children. Their love started at a vegetable market and now they dedicate their time to their 50-year-old vegetable shop business which they both worked to expand. “Our families don’t know about Valentine’s Day but we built a big family as it was our dream. With my wife, every day is like a festival, not just one day,” Hayes said.
REUTERS
8/23
Aviva Ephrati (L), 84, retired kindergarten teacher, and Israel Ephrati, 87, retired supervisor at a higher educational institution, sit in the living room at the protective housing in Kfar Saba, north of Tel Aviv, Israel, February 8, 2018. The couple managed an art gallery in Haifa for some years. They’ve been married for 64 years. “In 1950 I met Israel by accident, who was a soldier then, when I was trying to push away another young man who wanted to date me which I didn’t want during an evening out in Jerusalem. After that young man left the scene, Israel asked me to date him and I refused, I was willing to be a friend of him but I didn’t want anything romantic. In the next four years, I almost got married to another guy who disappeared two weeks before the wedding after his father gave him an ultimatum after finding out that my father was not originally Jewish.”
REUTERS
9/23
Nhuchhe Bahadur Amatya, 76, a retired accountant at Nepal Electricity Authority along with his wife Raywoti Devi Amatya, 74, a housewife, pose for a picture as they sit inside their shop in Lalitpur, Nepal, February 4, 2018. Nhuchhe was 17 and Raywoti was 15 when they had their arranged marriage 59 years ago. “I saw Raywoti for the first time at my home after we officially got married, during the wedding her face was covered with a Ghumto (veil),” said Nchuchhe.
REUTERS
10/23
Daniela, 37, a Berlin-born social educator, and her partner Arda, 39, a German architect with Turkish roots, pose in front of Altes Museum in Berlin, Germany, February 4, 2018. “I saw Arda in 2015 at an exhibition at the museum. And he recognised me as well. A smile from both sides. One hour later we were sitting together and having a cup of coffee. Now we live together in a nice flat,” said Daniela.
REUTERS
11/23
Alejandra, 44, an education policy consultant and Razhy, 48, a journalist and a human rights activist, walk on a street in the Coyoacan neighbourhood, in Mexico City, Mexico, February 9, 2018. The couple met in Mexico City in 1998, after Razhy was kidnapped and quit his job as a director of a weekly magazine in Oaxaca, a state south of the country. Months later, Alejandra traveled to Europe to study. “I went to study in France, I returned to the country and all went cold, my family did not accept our relationship. Finally, four years later, we were both without partners and decided to meet again. We got married in the neighbourhood of Coyoacan, the neighbourhood where we walked together and we met again after all those years,” said Alejandra.
REUTERS
12/23
Pramodini Roul, 24, an acid attack survivor and a campaigner at Chhanv, an NGO that supports acid attack victims, and her partner Saroj Sahoo, 26, a manager at Chhanv share a moment at the “Sheroes” home for acid attack victims in Noida, India, February 8, 2018. The couple met at a nursing home in Cuttack, India, where Pramodini was undergoing treatment for acid burns. Saroj was friends with the lady nurse who was treating Pramodini and would visit his friend at the nursing home while she was treating Pramodini, which is how the two met for the first time, on April 8, 2014. “On September 14, 2017, after an eye surgery, I was flying with Saroj and suddenly started seeing things clearly. That was the first time I saw Saroj’s face. I had never imagined that I would be able to see Saroj in my lifetime,” said Pramodini. The couple is scheduled to hold a ring ceremony on ValentineâÃôs Day in Lucknow.
REUTERS
13/23
Zakir Omur, 58, and his wife Nurgul Omur, 53, pose at their home in Bogatepe village in Kars province, Turkey, February 8, 2018. Zakir is a farmer and Nurgul is a housewife. They have been married for 29 years and have two sons. “When I was young my mother wanted me to marry, I thought it was too early but traditions came first, then young people’s will. They said there was a girl, Nurgul, that could be my wife. It was impossible to meet a girl anywhere else.”
REUTERS
14/23
Mezbah Ul Aziz (L), 34, and Mausumi Iqbal, 33, pose for a photo in a coffee shop where they hang out on a regular basis in Dhaka, Bangladesh, February 7, 2018. “Our story was not love-at-first-sight type. In fact, we used to remain at opposite ends of the class mostly when we met first, but you know about magic, it always happens with surprises. Both of us are dentists and married for eight years now. Before that, we met at our dental school on June 1, 2004, on the first day of the class. We both were invited to give a short speech before our classmates and teachers. I went first, and later him. We never admitted, but maybe we felt some spark on the first day, but it was definitely not love. Later, we chose different paths, chose different reading partners for daily life. But fate brought us together after a year and a half.”
REUTERS
15/23
Haidar Ali Moracho, 20, and Coral Ibanez Blanco, 23, pose for a picture at the Moor’s Field garden (Campo del Moro) in Madrid, Spain, February 7, 2018. Haidar, a transgender young man who’s in his second year of Asian and African Studies at Madrid’s Autonoma University and Coral, currently looking for a job, have been dating for seven years. “A friend of mine told me there was a girl who liked Dragon Ball’s Vegeta character and wanted to become a boy. She put us in touch virtually and we spent the following year video calling each other before we were able to meet in person in Madrid,” said Coral.
REUTERS
16/23
Tattoo artists, Kathriel Zambrano (L), 23, and Yohanna Gonzalez, 28, pose for a portrait in front of the bar El Molino where they first met, in Caracas, Venezuela, February 9, 2018. Yohanna was working at a bar for an event called InkFest. She was piercing. Meanwhile, Kathriel was being tattooed in front of a stand where she was working. “I didn’t give him much attention, because, at the time, I was with another person,” said Yohanna. He didn’t stop looking at her and tried some pick up lines. “When I saw him, he impressed me because he has very big eyes and the colour was very impressive but nothing else. I left early.” One day he texted and asked her what she was doing and if he could go and visit. “He bought me a bottle of anise liquor, but I told him, ‘honey, I don’t drink, you can buy me a chocolate if you want.’
REUTERS
17/23
Huang Fusheng (R), 83, and his wife Tang Lanfang, 80, pose with their wedding photo taken in 1958, at Prince Fu Mansion built during Qing dynasty, where they worked together from 1965 to 1992, in central Beijing, China, February 7, 2018. Introduced to one another by their supervisor in 1956, the couple worked together at the mansion, which housed an office under the China National Publications Import and Export Corporation, for 27 years. “I think our marriage is still fresh because we believed in forgiving and understanding each other,” said Lanfang.
REUTERS
18/23
Cathal King, 31, a veterinarian, and Jessica O’Connor, 28, a final-year veterinary student in Budapest, pose for a photograph with dogs on Rossbeigh Beach near the County Kerry village of Rossbeigh, Ireland, February 4, 2018. “We met playing tag rugby in Killarney. We’re both very active people. We do adventure races, hiking, and love to travel. We’ve been together three and a half years. I grew up back here in Rossbeigh so that’s the main reason we’re here,” said Cathal. Dogs are Indi, the Spaniel, which they own together and Pippa, the Jack Russell, Jessica’s mother’s dog.
REUTERS
19/23
Huang Chenfeng (R), 63, and her husband Zheng Dingguo, 63, pose for a picture at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center in Shanghai, China, February 6, 2018. Both originally come from Wenzhou in Zhejiang province. Huang has been taking care of her husband around the clock since he was admitted to the hospital for cancer treatment. The couple had an arranged marriage, organised by their parents in 1972.
REUTERS
20/23
Noor Djait, 31, an architect and Ismail Benmiled, 36, a businessman pose for a photograph with their three-year-old son Said and four-month-old daughter Malek at their house in Tunis, Tunisia, February 9, 2018. Noor and Ismail lived on the same road and went to the same schools growing up, but never became close until they met in a nightclub when she was 17. “That night was the first time we really made eye contact with each other, the first time I talked to him. I remember I took off my shoes to dance on the table. At the end I only found one, Ismail found the other. He brought it to me two days later, like Cinderella.”
REUTERS
21/23
Oladipupo Baruwa, 45, an investment promotion officer and Funke Baruwa, 43, a gender and development expert, pose for a photograph at home in Abuja, Nigeria, February 9, 2018. “Well, he is persistent. We met at a church on the first Sunday service of the year 2000 and he followed me home after every service from that day on until about two years later. I just loved his persistence and the fact that he didn’t want to give up,” said Funke. After the birth of their first daughter in 2013 the pair made a commitment that, whatever lay ahead, they would face it together. “For me that has always been the unifying¿ä factor… Marriage is a commitment, it is a hard work and when you are willing to work at it, you get better,”¿äBaruwa said.
REUTERS
22/23
Tony Wakaiga, 18, an art and design student and Suzzy Konje, 18, a hospitality management student pose for a photograph after their date as they walk along Banda Street in Nairobi, Kenya, February 11, 2018. Tony met Suzzy at a modelling photo session on Banda Street and they soon started dating. “We have been very good friends for a long time and our passion for each other has matured like wine. This Valentine’s Day, I have a special surprise for Suzzy that will knock her heart out,” said Tony.
REUTERS
23/23
Yolanda Zuniga, 66, and her husband Antonio Carrillo, 65, pose for a photograph in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, February 11, 2018. “He has been my sweetheart since I was 14 years old. We lived in the same neighbourhood. I always loved his sense of humour and we got married when I was 19. My parents wouldn’t let me go out dancing. Dancing has become our hobby. We go dancing on Saturdays and Sundays in downtown Ciudad Juarez, dressed as Pachucos. We have five children, 13 grandchildren and six great grandchildren,” said Yolanda.
REUTERS
“Double Seven Festival is the most romantic of traditional Chinese festivals, and since China’s globalization it’s become known as ‘Chinese Valentine’s Day’,” the company states.
“Now people usually celebrate Chinese Valentine’s Day by giving flowers, chocolates, and other presents to their sweethearts, instead of doing the traditional customs.”
China Highlights adds that the Western Valentine’s Day is now regarded as more popular than Qixi among the younger generation.
Finland
While Valentine’s Day is generally perceived as a celebration of romantic love, this isn’t the case in Finland.
On 14 February, people in Finland mark the platonic celebration of Friend’s Day.
“On Valentine’s Day, Finland is the place to be for those who appreciate their relationships with friends,” states ThisisFinland.
“In Finnish, Valentine’s Day is called ystävänpäivä (literally “Friend’s Day”) and, like the name says, the idea is to celebrate friendship. Ystävänpäivä in Finland is a public declaration of friendship.”
According to the site, the day has been officially included in Finnish calendars since the mid-1990s, having been observed unofficially since the 1980s.
Japan
In Japan, it is customary on Valentine’s Day for women to have the sole responsibility of buying gifts for men, traditionally opting for chocolate.
The roles are then reversed exactly one month later on 14 March, when men are expected to buy gifts for women on a day known as “White Day”.
“Another thing to note about Valentine’s Day in Japan is that women not only give chocolate to men for whom they have romantic feelings, but also male family members, and even coworkers,” states Live Japan.
“However, not all chocolate is considered equal, and the type of chocolate given depends on the relationship.”
Colombia
Similarly to other nations around the world, Colombia celebrates love on a day separate to 14 February.
Dia de Amor y Amistad (Day of Love and Friendship) is observed on the third Saturday of September in the country, outlines travel blog Medellin Guru.
In other Latin American countries, including Mexico, Puerto Rico and Costa Rica, Dia del Amor y Amistad is celebrated on the same day as Valentine’s Day.
According to The Bogota Post, in Colombia Dia de Amor y Amistad is “seen as a hybrid between Valentine’s Day and World Friendship Day”.
“The nation decided in 1969 to move Valentine’s Day from February to September and avoid the school season. It also came as a bonus that chocolates and flowers tended to sell better at that time of the year,” the publication explains.
South Korea
Similarly to Japan, in South Korea it is tradition on Valentine’s Day for women to gift chocolate to men, with men doing the same a month later.
There is also another Valentine’s-associated tradition that is upheld in South Korea – that of “Black Day”.
Educational organisation Asia Society explains that “Black Day”, which is held on 14 April exactly two months after Valentine’s Day, is observed in commemoration of people who are single.
“Supposedly, singles that did not receive a gift on either Valentine’s Day or White Day congregate on April 14th, otherwise known as ‘Black Day’ to eat Jjajyangmyeon (black noodles) with other single friends,” the organisation states.
“Perhaps the most telling difference between the two major relationship holidays and Black Day is that the advertising around Black Day is nearly non-existent, in stark contrast to both Valentine’s Day and White Day.”
