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Valentine’s Day 2025: While exchanging red roses, planning romantic dinner dates, and spending quality time with a partner have become global traditions, some countries have unique customs that might surprise you.
Valentine’s Day 2025 Traditions: In Bulgaria, couples toast to love with wine-tasting celebrations. (Image: Shutterstock)
Valentine’s Day 2025 Traditions: Valentine’s Day celebrated on February 14 every year, marks the end of a week filled with love and sweet gestures. Lovebirds—whether dating or married — celebrate the day with grandeur and enthusiasm. While exchanging red roses, planning romantic dinner dates, and spending quality time with a partner have become global traditions, some countries have unique customs that might surprise you.
In Germany, couples exchange porcine-themed charms and ornaments as symbols of luck and love. In Brazil, Valentine’s Day is celebrated on June 12 instead of February 14. Ghana marks the occasion as National Chocolate Day, promoting its cocoa industry.
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In Bulgaria, couples toast to love with wine-tasting celebrations. Meanwhile, the Philippines is known for mass wedding ceremonies, where hundreds of couples tie the knot on Valentine’s Day.
Slovenia
Slovenia is the only country in the world with the word ‘love’ in its name, yet its Valentine’s Day traditions differ from the usual celebrations. In Slovenian culture, February 14 is considered the first day of working in the fields, marking the beginning of the agricultural season. People traditionally walk barefoot on the often frozen fields, believing that the warmth of their feet helps plants regenerate. Instead of celebrating love on Valentine’s Day, Slovenians express their affection on March 12, known as St. Gregory’s Day, which is regarded as the true day of love.
South Africa
The phrase “wearing your heart on your sleeve” takes a literal meaning in South Africa on Valentine’s Day. Inspired by the ancient Roman festival ‘Lupercalia’, women pin paper hearts with the name of their love interest onto their sleeves, hoping to catch the attention of their potential partners and spark a romantic connection.
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Historically, Lupercalia was a fertility festival where men would run through the streets wearing goat skins and whip women, believing it would bless them with fertility and good fortune. While such practices are no longer observed, the symbolism of love and attraction continues to influence South Africa’s Valentine’s Day traditions.
France
France, often regarded as the “epicenter of romance,” once had a rather unconventional Valentine’s Day tradition known as the “love lottery.” In this practice, single men and women would gather in houses facing each other, calling out to potential partners through windows until they paired up.
However, if a man was not pleased with his match, he was allowed to walk away. The rejected women would then take matters into their own hands—gathering around a large bonfire to burn images of those who rejected them while hurling insults into the sky. This tradition eventually became so chaotic that the French government had to ban it altogether.
Japan
While Valentine’s Day often sees women receiving gifts, Japan follows a unique tradition where women take the lead in expressing their love. On February 14, women gift heart-shaped chocolates to their loved ones, reversing the usual gifting trend. Then, exactly a month later, on March 14—White Day—Japanese men return the favour, showering women with gifts in appreciation.
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We must also mention that there is a huge differentiation for men based on chocolates. For prospective partners, women deliver high-quality honmei-choco (true feeling) chocolates, while for colleagues or acquaintances, they have giri-choco (the cheaper ‘obligation chocolate’), and for the unlikeables, only a box of cho-giri choco: ultra-obligation chocolate.
England
In England, Valentine’s Day was once celebrated with a spiritual touch. On the eve of February 14, women followed an old tradition where they placed five bay leaves on their pillows—one at each corner and one in the centre. This ritual was believed to bring dreams of their future partner. Though this practice is no longer common, England continues to embrace Valentine’s Day with love letters, poetry, and heartfelt gestures.
