Love is in the air every February 14^th as we celebrate Valentine’s Day. Everyone is out with their partners to celebrate love on this romantic day, whether it’s going out to eat, getting couples massages, or staying in and watching a chick flick. Valentine’s traditions change as you get older, starting from passing out cards to classmates and going to spending time with that someone special; but have you ever wondered how Valentine’s Day celebrations vary around the world?

First, let’s take a look at why we celebrate Valentine’s Day. In third century Rome, there was a priest named Valentine. When the emperor of Rome outlawed marriage of young soldiers because he said it made them better soldiers, Valentine performed secret marriages for young lovers. This eventually had him put to death, but we still celebrate what he did today by having celebrations of love all around the world.

In France, they celebrate Valentine’s Day similarly to how the United States does with the Epicenter of Romance. This celebration takes place between the 12^th and 14^th of February. The citizens of a town called Valentine participate in decorating the town in cards, flowers, and hearts. It’s also incredibly common to see marriage proposals in the streets during the celebration, as it’s an act of declaring love to someone.

Some traditions around the world are a lot different then what we celebrate in the United States. For example, in Bulgaria, they don’t use cards and hearts. Instead, they have the “Day of Winemakers,” where young and old couples share a glass of wine with the person they love.

“I think it’s really cool to hear about Valentine’s Day traditions around the world because even though everyone celebrates the holiday differently, we all still make the effort to do cute romantic things for the people we love,” said sophomore Kaylee Sheline.

Valentine’s traditions vary all throughout the world. Although we all celebrate Valentine’s Day differently, we’re still celebrating the common theme of love. So this Valentine’s Day, spend it with the person you love or just with some good friends!