Happy Valentines Day ProBoards !

[📚 Dianne 📚]

[HoudiniDerek]

Happy Valentine's Day!

[bigballofyarn]

[Pearson]

Sorry, I ran out of room...

[Smokin Shaun]

Happy Valentines Day ProBoards !

[bigballofyarn]

Pearson,

[Beckea]

Just another day but hope everyone is enjoying themselves. What are your plans?

[CollieflowersBark]

Happy Valentine's Day! Have a picture of my kitten giving the smolder.

[Shaliza]

Am enjoying another cozy evening at home with the kitties. >^..^<

[Wesley2005]

I am quite late.. but Happy Valentines Day proboards! Apologies for being late

[📚 Dianne 📚]

I'm wondering if Valentine's Day is not celebrated in other countries like it is in the USA. I looked it up and found that Muslim countries don't celebrate but maybe I'm wrong -or is it something personal that prevented everyone from acknowledging the day. I miss the olden days when everyone in the class gave out cards.  Or maybe I'm just super romantic because my wedding Anniversary is on the 13th so the dates hold more significance for me.

[Shaliza]

Actually, I grew up in Sri Lanka and V-day was never really celebrated there. Things might have changed since I've not been back in like 25 years, but growing up, I never had Valentine's crafts, cookies and the like at school. There was also no indication that it was anything special, as the stores lacked any V-day products or decorations.

[HoudiniDerek]

Feb 16, 2019 5:10:02 GMT -8 📚 Dianne 📚 said:

I'm wondering if Valentine's Day is not celebrated in other countries like it is in the USA. I looked it up and found that Muslim countries don't celebrate but maybe I'm wrong -or is it something personal that prevented everyone from acknowledging the day. I miss the olden days when everyone in the class gave out cards.  Or maybe I'm just super romantic because my wedding Anniversary is on the 13th so the dates hold more significance for me.

I know they don't in Iceland.  Although a friend of mine told me that they are getting more into it every year, so before too long, it could be hot there too.

[Derek‽]

It makes sense that Muslim-majority countries don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day. Islam doesn’t usually acknowledge Catholic saints and those countries tend to be outside of the sphere of strong Western influence.

I know Japan sort of celebrates it, but differently than we do. It’s a commercial holiday in which women are expected to give men chocolate, with men giving women chocolate and gifts on White Day, March 14. And yet, neither day is considered particularly romantic.

Valentine’s Day and Christmas (and Halloween) are largely postwar cultural imports from America, so they tend to have the blunt commercial facade of holidays as we celebrate them, but lack the roots or any deeper meaning we may (pretend to) ascribe to them. Christians are a tiny minority in Japan, so Christmas lacks religious significance, but convincing people to buy into the consumerism needs a feel good message. So Christmas has the love of family and friends thing, yadda, yadda, yadda, while Christmas Eve has become the country’s romantic holiday.

I imagine many cultures have their own love/romance holidays that they celebrate at different times of the year, and I wouldn’t expect them to look anything like Valentine’s Day in practice. So they obviously aren’t going to acknowledge V-Day any more than we are going to acknowledge their holidays.

[📚 Dianne 📚]

Well, I tried to bring a little happiness or humor here...but I guess I mostly flopped. Maybe I'll have better luck with St Patrick's day!