It’s two days before February 14th and people are bustling in and out of my local M&S, desperate to get their beloved spouse a present. There is a dazzling array of colourful flowers at the entrance and chocolate boxes in the shapes of hearts almost spilling out of the shelves. Valentine’s Day – a festival which is celebrated by pretty much every country across the globe. But what are the different traditions around the world for this special day? Alas, here are my top 3 Valentine’s Day traditions by country:

1. France
It is well-known that France is a romantic country so it’s no surprise that it has a Valentine’s Day tradition. Although this custom is now banned throughout France, a popular practice, known as “une loterie d’amour” involved single women shouting the name of a single man whilst standing outside his house – normally someone whom they had an attraction towards. The man was then supposed to come out and take the woman on a date. If the woman was rejected by the man, she would get together with the other women in the town who had also been rejected and they would light a bonfire together and burn pictures of the men or other reminders of that person, while swearing and screaming.

2. Japan:
Unlike in many western cultures, in Japan, emphasis is not placed on men spoiling women but instead the other way round, and even then, Japanese women are said to be more shy and withdrawn when it comes to expressing love. When the idea of chocolate as a symbol of Valentine's Day came to be, chocolate boxes hit the Japanese market by storm as it was an easy way for women to express their emotions. Nowadays, Japanese women buy particular chocolates on Valentine's Day. These include; “giri-choko” meaning “obligatory chocolate” for co-workers, teachers and employees, “cho-giri choko” meaning “ultra-obligatory chocolate” for people who you don't really want to give a Valentine's gift to but feel that you ought to, “homnei choko” for lovers, and finally, “tomo choko” for female friends.

3. Denmark
Denmark recently introduced a quirky Valentine's Tradition, whereby men send rhyming notes, known as “Gaekkebrev”, to their secret female admiree. The man must sign the letter with the number of dots that represent the number of letters in his name, in order for the female to guess who he is.

Emily Drummond, Surbiton High School