Love In Any Language
Around the world, Valentine’s Day is celebrated in different ways

Story by Laura McFarland

Overpriced flowers, booked restaurants and dozens of limos on the streets. Just another typical Valentine’s Day in Jamaica, Peru or any number of nations around the world.

The flights of fancy and rampant consumerism that surround the romantic holiday are not as native to the United States as it seems. In countries all over the world, the holiday is recognized or ignored in its own special way.

Jamaica celebrates Valentine’s Day much the same way that the United States does, said Kerine Miller, a freshman broadcast journalism major.

“Valentine’s Day is celebrated pretty much like up here,” Miller said. “Everybody wears red and white if they’re really mushy. I think the culture is becoming more couple oriented now.”

Common gifts on the romantic holiday include the customary teddy bears, perfume and cards. Local businesses receive more than their fair share of customers.

“All the businesses have these packages, so if you and your sweetheart want to come there, they’ll give you a discount,” Miller said. “All the restaurants are full for that night. All the shows on TV are mushy.”

Paul Gordon, a freshman premajor, said the holiday is a big event in Jamaica.

“I know of instances where guys send limos to pick their girls up at work and school,” Gordon said. “It’s viewed as a romantic holiday. The United States and Jamaica are pretty much the same in that respect.”

Similarly, for the youths of Lima, Peru, Valentine’s Day is also a special day.

Maria Vasquez, a freshman business major from Lima, said the day is one for young people.

“Only the young people celebrate Valentine’s Day,” Vasquez said. “It’s romantic, for boyfriends and girlfriends, but it’s also a friendship day. We send cards, flowers or chocolates.”

In the many parts of Peru Stephany Herran, a freshman premajor, has lived in, she has found that Valentine’s Day isn’t only a romantic holiday.

“There aren’t as many dates,” Herran said. “It’s mostly groups. They go out to eat or the movies or have get-togethers at someone’s house.”

It’s not uncommon for youths to spend the day with their families and then go out with their friends. Herran said the time spent with her family was even more enjoyable than the time spent with her friends.

“It didn’t seem as fake because it’s true love,” Herran said.

Razan Sweiss, a freshman premajor, said in Amman, Jordan, people of all ages acknowledge that Valentine’s Day is time meant for friends and loved ones.

“My mom takes her mom out for lunch during the day,” Sweiss said. “Then at night, my mom and my dad go out to dinner.”

During the day, schools sell flowers, which are delivered to friends and dates while they are in their classes.

“Lovers get each other flowers or bunnies and balloons,” Sweiss said. “Flowers are really expensive that day. One rose is about $6 or $7.”

Though Valentine’s Day is also important to young couples in Cairo, Egypt, there is another aspect of the day that is just significant, said Germaine Mikhail, a junior psychology major.

“It isn’t just about a guy and a girl,” Mikhail said. “It doesn’t have to be romantic. My best friend and I used to exchange really important gifts. We exchanged something that was really special to us.”

Some of the gifts the girls would exchange included childhood pictures that no longer had any negatives to use to make copies. Exchanging these irreplaceable items shows how much the friends care about each other, Mikhail said.

Parties and movies are the customary date-night scene in Guatemala, but the holiday is generally treated like it is just another day.

“We celebrate Valentine’s Day, but it’s not such a big deal as it is here,” Anaite Dengo, a sophomore interior design major, said. “Here you walk into a store and you immediately see Valentine’s (Day) stuff. In Guatemala, you walk through the store and you might come to a section that is Valentine’s (Day related).”

Nor is the day looked on as very special in Japan. Almost all girls give chocolates to boys, said Shoko Oshima, a freshman accounting major, but the boys give cookies and presents instead.

“Between friends, it’s kind of cheap things.,” Oshima said. “Between boyfriends and girlfriends, boys get expensive gifts. Sometimes boys spend (more than) $100 for presents.”

Whether Valentine’s Day is celebrated as the romantic event of the year or treated as just an afterthought, it is what’s in the heart that counts.

Laura McFarland
l.d.mcfarland@student.tcu.edu