Valentines in Different Countries

Before you read: some questions to help you think about the topic and the words you might need.

How is Valentine’s Day celebrated in your country?

How do you think your country’s celebrations might be different to other countries?

Valentine’s Day is celebrated in different ways in different countries.

1. Malaysia

In Malaysia, on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, women write their phone numbers on oranges before throwing them into the closest river with hopes that the man of their dreams will pick one up. Fruit vendors often collect the oranges, which are considered a lucky fruit, and resell them at the market—phone numbers and all! Can't you see a romantic comedy movie starting with a guy finding a "call me" orange in his bag of groceries?

2. Brazilian

For Brazilians, Dia dos Namorados (Day of Lovers) is June 12. On the eve before the holiday, women write the names of various crushes on folded-up pieces of paper Whichever name they pick from the pile on the following day will be the one they marry Other South American countries practice the Dia del amor y la amistad (Love and Friendship Day), where people are randomly assigned a partner to whom they give a secret gift—à la Secret Santa.

3. Scotland

Scotland also has a party game for V-Day! Each single person writes his or her name on a piece of paper, which is then thrown into two hats—one with the men's names and the other with the women's names. Everyone draws a name, and the couples pair off for the evening. Since it's unlikely that the names will actually match, the man has to stick with the woman who picked his name—regardless of whose name he picked. Interesting!

4. France

France had a curious (now banned) custom called une loterie d'amour where single men and women gathered in houses facing each other. They would pair off by yelling out to each other, and if the man didn't like his Valentine in the end, he could desert her in the middle of the day. At night, the deserted women would make a bonfire together to burn pictures of and curse the men who had scorned them. Eventually, the French government shut down the practice for its maliciousness. Um, yeah ...

5. South Korea

In South Korea, the 14th day of every month is dedicated to an aspect of love. For example, May is Rose Day, October is Wine Day and December is Hug Day. On February 14, women give chocolate to men, and on March 14 (also called "White Day"), men give candy—not chocolate—to women. People who didn't receive anything on either day get together on April 14, also known as Black Day, to eat black bean noodles (jajanmyeon) and lament their singleness.

Try to guess the meaning of the words in bold and match them with their closest meaning from the choices in the right. Some of the answers are very close and have similar meaning. The meaning of these words is how they are used in the reading. Some of these words have different meanings in the dictionary depending on how they are used.

 The answers are below the table.