Love is all around us: world celebrates the Valentine’s Day

PanARMENIAN.Net - Today, Feb 14, Valentine's Day has little religious significance. But the holiday actually commemorates a priest, St. Valentine, who married young couples in secret around 270 AD, Global Post says.

At that time, Roman Emperor Claudius II outlawed marriages involving younger citizens, claiming that "married men made poor soldiers," according to the BBC.

There are many legends about St. Valentine - one of the most popular being that the saint fell in love with the jailer's daughter while imprisoned. Before he was beheaded, the Christian martyr wrote his sweetheart a farewell letter signed, "From your Valentine."

Nowadays, some countries condemn the holiday - one even said it's bad for your soul - while others appreciate it as a day of love.

To many people Valentine's Day means boxes of chocolate, bouquets of flowers and bundles of balloons. Others celebrate with underwater weddings in London, chocolate spas in Japan and decorated apples in Iraq.

Chinese lovers tie a red ribbon to their little fingers, symbolizing eternal love for one another on Valentine's Day; South Korean women paint heart marks on their partners' faces with chocolate. In Thailand, the holiday has literally taken flight. Hanging off the sides of cliffs, sky-diving and underwater wedding packages have become trending ways to tie the knot among adventure-loving Thai couples, The Atlantic points out.

Known as El Día del Cariño, Valentine’s Day in Guatemala is a colorful, affectionate affair. Throughout Latin America, the day is as much about friendship and family as it is about love, the Los Angeles Times notes. Commonly referred to as the day of amor y amistad — love and friendship — Guatemalans exchange flowers, chocolates and cards like in the U.S., but with pals as well as with admirers.

Stereotypes aside, Germans are actually pretty romantic. To NewsFeed’s surprise, nearly 70% of German couples have penned pet names for one another. If your German beau refers to you as a schatz, don’t be alarmed. It might sound like an insult, but he means you’re a treasure.

In Japan, Valentine’s Day works a little differently. There’s not one but two days of romance, Forbes reports. On Feb. 14, women typically give chocolate to their boyfriends, male friends and superiors. Called the “giri choco” tradition, it wouldn’t be outrageous for a Japanese woman to give 20 obligatory boxes to her colleagues and male friends.

One of the world’s most romantic destinations does Valentine’s Day right. In Verona, the land of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, couples flock to the city for “Verona in Love.” The city organizes a number of events, including tours that retrace the tragic lovers’ footsteps, a contest for the best love letter to Juliet or a moment with Juliet’s statue for good fortune, Time reported, citing the Guardian.