Valentine’s Day is symbolic of love, care, and romance, but it may vary in colours, shapes, and traditions around the world. Two students from AAU share their perspectives and traditions, celebrating Valentine’s Day—Johanna from Prague and Michelle from New York.
Valentine’s Day is mostly commercialized and celebrated in the USA. Michelle describes: “bakeries start displaying Valentine’s chocolates a month in advance, restaurants get full with reservations and people rush to buy flowers at the last minute.”
Michelle likes to spend her holiday gifting flowers and candy to her mom and friends, celebrating a riff-off of Valentine’s Day called “Galentine’s Day” where dinner is shared with “girlfriends”—the non-romantic type.
On the other hand, Prague-born Johanna expressed that there is a lack of celebration in the Czech Republic: “most people usually do not care about this holiday more than just an excuse to go on another date in the restaurant or spend an evening with loved ones. A lot of people buy flowers, and this tendency is mostly visible the night before the holiday.”
The Internet has made us closer than we have ever been before, sharing holidays and traditions across borders is the norm. Cultures slowly but steadily assimilate with each other because of globalization and technology, so more passionate celebrations towards holidays like Valentine’s Day from young people are seen.
“I believe that with time we will definitely adopt this holiday more officially, but now it is not that important to us, Czechs. Valentine’s Day is perceived as an American holiday, and with the flow of trends and the Internet it slowly makes it all the way here,” Johanna said.
