Accra, Feb.14, GNA – The month of love is here, and people are already excited about it, with Ghana joining the rest of the world today Monday February 14 to mark the 2022 St Valentine’s Day.
The Day is observed more as a chocolate sharing period for many in Ghana and provides an opportunity for lovers, family, and friends to show love to themselves.
During the Day, many anticipate spending quality time with their dear and loved ones by going on romantic dates, gifting them special tokens of love, asking out their potential love interest, and more.
On this Day, those in love indulge in doing all the ‘mushy’ things for their partners and potential dates.
Before the 14th of February, people also celebrate Rose Day, Propose Day, Chocolate Day, Teddy Day, Promise Day, Hug Day, and Kiss Day in various parts of the world.
Nationaltoday.com states that Valentine ’s Day came from the feast for the patron saints named Valentine by the Catholic Church during the 496 AD to overshadow and later replace the deemed brutal Pagan festival of Lupercalia.
This festival was celebrated at the beginning of spring and paid homage to the Roman God of Agriculture, Faunus, on February 15.
A goat and dog would be sacrificed symbolising fertility and purity, respectively. This would then involve the hide of the goat being torn into strips, dipped in the sacrificial blood, and painted across the women and crops.
It was during the 1400s that the Day was associated with romance. Messages, or ‘Valentines’ as they were called, began to appear. Handwritten letters and poems declaring affections of love became increasingly popular.
Valentine’s Day over the years has been commercialised and people generate good sums of profit because of the Day.
People create and sell all manner of things like valentine cards, rose flowers, red-labeled or branded perfumes, romantic nighties and underwear, teddy bears, red grape champagnes, chocolates, and dresses among other days.
According to a research done by a top Millennial Marketing Agencies, Valentine’s Day was less popular among men that women in the US.
It said while 13 per cent of men said Valentine’s Day was their favorite holiday, eight per cent of men absolutely hated it.
Meanwhile, 13 per cent of women claimed Valentine’s Day was their favorite holiday, compared to just five per cent who hated it.
Also 19 per cent of married Americans admitted that Valentine’s Day was a much bigger deal before they were married, but 46 per cent still celebrated Valentine’s Day with their spouses.
The Day is observed in similar and unique ways worldwide.
According to the Computer Network, an American Red Ventures media website, women in Japan on this day are expected to give chocolate to their boyfriends or husbands on Valentine’s Day.
In the Philippines, thousands of couples participate in mass weddings held on February 14 and everything from the wedding banquet to the venue, and sometimes even the gifts are covered by the local government.
Rouelle Umali/Xinhua states: “It feels good to see couples who have been living together for years, but cannot afford even the simplest of wedding ceremonies, finally get married with the help of the municipal government and other sponsors,” says Lordase Sajonas, a Municipal Civil Registrar in Pangasinan, Manila, told Pacific Daily News.
“Some of them have been living together for years and already have children but are unable to submit necessary parental documents to their kids’ school because they do not have a marriage certificate. Plus, the cost of a wedding is so expensive,” he added.
In Italy, Baci Perugina (chocolate with hazelnut) is given out on Valentine’s Day and the wrapper on the chocolate-covered hazelnuts contains a romantic or affirming message.
Total Chocolate also plays a role in Valentine’s Day traditions in Italy, where lovers exchange Baci Perugina (Bacio is the Italian word for kiss).
People believe keys could also be given on Valentine’s Day in Italy symbolising an invitation to unlock the giver’s heart.
For South Africans, it is customary for women in February to pin the names of their crush on the sleeve of their shirt. The tradition is believed to be a modern adaptation of the ancient Roman rite of Lupercalia, which involved animal sacrifice and naked men chasing women in the street.
More than two dozen couples attend a mass wedding ceremony on Valentine’s Day on Robben Island, near Cape Town, South Africa.
Women in Japan, on this Day, present men with chocolates and flowers. Husbands, boyfriends, or prospective partners get high-end honmei choco (“true feeling”) chocolates, while acquaintances and coworkers receive simpler giri choco (“obligation chocolates”).
A month later, on March 14 or ‘White Day’, men who received honmei choco are expected to return the favour with a present worth at least two or three times what the lady spent on chocolate.
In Denmark, lovers and friends alike exchange white flowers called snowdrops. Men also write “gaekkebrev” — elaborate paper-cut notes with a humorous message signed only with a series of anonymous dots. If his lady figures out who sent her a “joking card,” she earns an Easter egg later that spring.
In Wales, lovers exchange handcrafted wooden spoons on January 25 ahead of the Day. If accepted by their ladies, they were then regarded as tokens of engagement, or betrothal, says woodcarver Kerry Thomas in an interview with CBS News.
The world’s second-largest cocoa producer, Ghana, in 2005 declared February 14 to be National Chocolate Day in a bid to boost tourism and domestic consumption of chocolate.
The initiative is also intended to encourage young people to channel their romantic energy into a gift of chocolate.
Red is the preferred colour of attire for some people on this Day in Ghana and many parts of the world.
The question is, how exciting or engaging will this year’s Val’s Day be in view of the financial challenges facing countries across the world caused by COVID-19?
GNA