Friends Lost and Found

Every February, in various parts of the world, cards, candy, flowers and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. On February 14th, for those of us in the States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France and Australia, it will be St. Valentine’s Day–a day to say “I Love You”. According to the Greeting Card Association, over one billion valentine cards are purchased each year. Approximately 85% of the cards are purchased by women.

Although traditions vary, it’s a day celebrated by people of all ages. For the little kids, usually a party is held at school. Kids bring in valentines (cards) for their classmates. The valentines are typically store bought cards, but sometimes they are handmade. The party usually includes heart-shaped cookies, cupcakes and candy, red punch and a game or two.

When children reach middle school age (11-14 years old), valentines are typically given to close friends. Sometimes a school dance is held in honor of the special day. For the high school students, Valentine’s Day is an opportunity to let your peers know that someone loves you. Throughout the day, flowers and balloon bouquets are delivered from loved ones. Some schools even do singing telegrams as fundraisers! A class gets interrupted, the receiver’s name is loudly announced and a love song is sung in front of the entire class.

Valentine’s Day is also celebrated by adults. Couples exchange cards, sometimes gifts, and at the very least an “I love you”. Many couples go out for dinner and the restaurants offer valentine specials. For those of us who are single, Valentine’s Day gets mixed reviews. Some of us go along with the day and give cards to our friends. Others are neutral and some despise the day.

Even though I personally find the day to be somewhat silly, I do appreciate that it encourages people to care about others and to let them know they are loved. So, Happy Valentine’s Day, no matter where you live!

If you live in a different country, what are some of your holidays???

Tags: friends, love, valentine

This entry was posted on Friday, February 5th, 2010 at 12:43 am and is filed under Readers stories, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.