UPDATED: This article was originally published on February 9, 2017.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n This week, shelves will be brimming with kissing teddy bears, heart-shaped chocolates\u00a0and other novelty marketing gimmicks designed to make single people weep. Yep, Valentine\u2019s Day\u00a0is here again.<\/strong><\/p>\n But although\u00a0February 14 has become synonymous with Hallmark, smugness and consumerism in many parts of the world, not every culture chooses to declare their love via a sappy greeting card or overpriced rose.\u00a0Some dedicate a day (or week) to celebrating friendship, while others choose to pin their hearts to their sleeve or burn photographs of people who\u2019ve done them wrong (which we definitely don\u2019t condone).<\/p>\n From mourning the single life over a plate of noodles to walking barefoot through frozen fields, here are some of the more unusual ways that Valentine\u2019s Day is celebrated around the world:<\/p>\n Seeking out the nearest candy shop in Argentina.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n One day isn\u2019t enough for the passionate Argentinians<\/a> \u2013 they also devote an entire week in July to the festival of love, calling it \u2018Sweetness week\u2019. Between the 13th<\/sup> and 20th<\/sup>, lovers exchange kisses for candy, and finish up the week of celebrations with a friendship day as well. Cute.<\/p>\n ARE YOU A LOVER OF ALL THINGS SWEET? CHECK OUT OUR RANGE OF SMALL GROUP ADVENTURES TO ARGENTINA NOW.\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n A local sami celebrates the joy of friendship with his pooch.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Finland<\/a> and Estonia<\/a> slow things right down on Valentine\u2019s Day, opting for a friendlier celebration called Yst\u00e4v\u00e4n P\u00e4iv\u00e4 <\/em>in Finnish and S\u00f5brap\u00e4ev <\/em>in Estonian instead. \u00a0Here, February 14 is all about celebrating friendship, and people exchange presents and cards with the greeting \u2018Happy Friends Day\u2019. Probably not what you\u2019ve been waiting to hear from your crush all this time\u2026<\/p>\n GATHER TOGETHER YOUR MATES AND CELEBRATE FRIENDSHIP ON A SMALL GROUP ADVENTURE TO FINLAND. CHECK OUT OUR RANGE OF TOURS HERE.\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Just. Eat. Cheese.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Finding love can be a lottery, and no one knows this better than the French! Une loterie d\u2019amour\u00a0\u2013 <\/em>a surprisingly unromantic custom from the country of love \u2013 saw hopeful singles line up in houses facing each other and call through the windows until they eventually paired up. Those women left partner-less then built a large bonfire, ceremoniously burning images of the men who rejected them whilst hurling insults into the sky. If that doesn\u2019t call for an impassioned \u2018Sacre bleu!\u2019\u00a0<\/em>I don\u2019t know what does!<\/p>\n Fortunately, after things started getting a little unruly, the French government decided to ban the practice altogether. We get it. Instead of setting things on fire, we recommend heading to the nearest market and stocking up on the four Cs for a perfect Valentine\u2019s Day: cheese, croissants, chocolate and champagne. C\u2019est magnifique<\/em>.<\/p>\n OOH LA LA. EAT ALL THE FROMAGE ON A SMALL GROUP ADVENTURE IN FRANCE<\/a>. CHECK \u2018EM OUT HERE.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Soon, chocolate. First, temples.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In Japan<\/a>, it\u2019s the gals who spoil the object of their affections with chocolates\u00a0\u2013 but it\u2019s the type <\/em>of chocolate given that counts.<\/p>\n For husbands, boyfriends, or prospective partners, high quality\/very very delicious\u00a0honmei-choco<\/em> (\u2018true feeling\u2019) chocolates are hand delivered, while colleagues or acquaintances receive giri-choco (<\/em>the cheaper \u2018obligation chocolate\u2019). If you\u2019re unlucky (or unlikeable?), you might even end up with a box of cho-giri choco<\/em>: ultra-obligation chocolate reserved for the most unpopular of male colleagues. Ouch.<\/p>\n When White Day comes around on March 14, those who received honmei-choco<\/em> are expected to return the sweet favour by giving their loved ones presents worth two to three times the chocolates they received, like jewellery or fancy underwear.<\/p>\n JAPAN. ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA. EXPLORE OUR RANGE OF ADVENTURES HERE.\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Translated into English roughly as \u2018joke letters\u2019,\u00a0Gaekkebrev\u00a0\u2013\u00a0<\/em>a Norwegian tradition originating in the 18th<\/sup> century\u00a0\u2013 is more romantic than it sounds. Secret admirers pen poems to their beloved, before cutting intricate patterns into the paper and pressing a small white Snowdrop flower inside. The \u2018joke\u2019 comes from the letter\u2019s signature \u2013 or rather, it\u2019s absence. Instead, budding poets sign off with a dot for each letter of their name.<\/p>\n If the lady correctly guesses who her admirer is, she wins an Easter egg at Easter. If not, the yolk\u2019s on her and she has to give him one instead.<\/p>\n NORWAY? YES WAY! CHECK OUT OUR SMALL GROUP ADVENTURES IN NORWAY<\/a> NOW.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Go for a kayak, maybe get married.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n If you\u2019ve ever dreamed of getting married alongside your best friends, acquaintances, neighbours, colleagues, and the waiter from your favourite restaurant, Valentine\u2019s Day in the Philippines may just be your celebration.<\/p>\n Every year on Valentine\u2019s Day, hundreds (sometimes thousands) of couples come together to be married en masse in public places. Often, the celebrations are sponsored by the government as a public service, allowing underprivileged couples the opportunity to tie the knot.<\/p>\n YOU DON\u2019T *HAVE* TO GET MARRIED IN THE PHILIPPINES\u00a0\u2013 WHY NOT HAVE A NICE HOLIDAY INSTEAD? CHECK OUT OUR SMALL GROUP TRIPS HERE.\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Keep your eyes peeled for kissing birds.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In Slovenia<\/a>, where St Valentine is one of the patron saints of spring, February 14 marks the first day of working in the fields for the New Year. It\u2019s believed that this is the day that plants start to regenerate (there\u2019s even a proverb that says \u201cSt Valentine brings the keys of roots\u201d).<\/p>\n There\u2019s also a belief that birds \u2018propose\u2019 to each other on this day, and to bear witness to the occasion, you have to walk barefoot through fields that are often still frozen. It\u2019s Saint Gregory\u2019s Day on March 12 when people generally celebrate their love for each other (in a hopefully warmer, less frostbite-y way).<\/p>\n NOTHING SAYS ROMANCE QUITE LIKE A CREAM CAKE AT LAKE BLED. EAT A FEW ON A SMALL GROUP ADVENTURE IN SLOVENIA NOW.\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Korean food or romance? It\u2019s a difficult choice.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Adapted from the Japanese tradition, women in South Korea are also in charge of the chocolate-giving on Valentine\u2019s Day, receiving presents in return on White Day a month later.<\/p>\n If your first two Valentine\u2019s Days pass without a whiff of romance, never fear. The Koreans<\/a> have taken things one step further by adding a third day: to mourn being forever alone. \u2018Black Day\u2019 on April 14, has become an informal celebration\/commiseration of the single life, when singletons dress in head to toe black, gather with their friends to enjoy jajangmyeon<\/em>, Korean noodles with a black bean sauce (in all honesty, slurping up noodles actually sounds like a pretty great way to spend the day).<\/p>\n The romance, or lack of, doesn\u2019t end there though, with romantic celebrations continuing on the 14th<\/sup> of the month throughout the year; May\u2019s Rose Day, June\u2019s Kiss Day, and December\u2019s Hug Day to name a few.<\/p>\n EAT NOODLES LIKE NO ONE\u2019S WATCHING ON OUR 8-DAY REAL FOOD ADVENTURE THROUGH SOUTH KOREA. FULL DETAILS HERE.\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n A calm way to spend the day in South Africa.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Many South Africans <\/a>celebrate the day of love with chocolates, flowers, and candlelit dinners in romantic locations. But, for the times when an anonymously signed card doesn\u2019t do the trick, South Africans don\u2019t mind wearing their heart on their sleeve \u2013 literally.<\/p>\n Following a Roman festival called \u2018Lupercalia\u2019 (thought to be the predecessor to Valentine\u2019s Day), young girls pin the name of their love on their sleeve for the day. Luckily, this is a much tamer version of the original festival, at which goats were sacrificed and men would run through the streets wearing the skins, whipping women to bless them with fertility.<\/p>\n FALL IN LOVE WITH SOUTH AFRICA ON ONE OF THESE SMALL GROUP ADVENTURES.\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Intrepid-Travel-argentina_buenos-aires_woman_colourful-street-art-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n2. Finland<\/a> & Estonia<\/a><\/h3>\n
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