Platonic Love
On February 14, most spend the day celebrating their loved ones. In Finland, the country spends the day celebrating friends and platonic love. This day is called Ystävän Päivä. Instead of gathering to celebrate romantic relationships, they spend the day enjoying the company and companionship of their closest friends and relatives by sharing meals or participating in various activities.
The two most popular activities include ice skating and swimming as a group. The holiday became popular in 1980 to encourage children in school to create handmade cards and gifts for their classmates. The day then morphed into a day to celebrate your friendships, officially becoming a calendar holiday in 1996. Although couples are not absent from the holiday, the day is used more to recognize the love one has outside of their romantic relationship. Different organizations in Finland have set up stations in…
The History of Valentine’s Day
Lavish dates, love songs, long and thoughtful love letters—these Valentine’s day traditions might be the first things you associate with the popular lovers’ holiday. However, there is a long and cultured history of Valentine’s day that many are unaware of.
February has historically been known as the month of love in ancient Christian and Roman tradition; however, the holiday was originally meant to honor Saint Valentine’s death and burial, not just romance.
Saint Valentine, a priest from third-century Rome, was sentenced to death after secretly and illegally marrying young couples after the Emperor banned marriage for young men. It is rumored that Valentine sent letters to a lover while imprisoned; according to legend, he signed his letters by stating, “From your Valentine,” a saying still used today on Valentine’s day love letters.
Additionally, Catholic Romans might have decided to celebrate Valentine’s day in mid-February in order to “Christianize” the pagan holiday of Lupercalia. During this holiday, Roman priests would sacrifice a goat and a dog as well as burn the names of all of the eligible women in order to boost fertility in the community…
Guide to the Ultimate Galentine’s Picnic
Valentine’s Day isn’t just a day to celebrate that special someone, it’s a day that can also be spent celebrating your gals. What better way to spend it than at a picnic with your girls. First you have to plan the food each girl is bringing. Some fruit will be essential for the picnic, especially cotton candy grapes. A bowl of everything bagel mixed nuts is the perfect balance of sweet and salty flavors. A charcuterie board is the perfect centerpiece for the picnic.
There can be an assortment of cheese and crackers, and if you really want to impress your gals, you can include the easy to make salami roses. A picnic is not complete without its savory sweets. Chocolate covered strawberries are the perfect Valentine’s Day sweet for friends to share. If strawberries are not for you, consider adding strawberry cupcakes with a dash of food coloring to add some pink for the special holiday, adding a heart shaped pizookie, heart shaped macaroons , or some croissants to top off the heart shaped sweets. Last but not least, there must be pink and red decorations. Some heart shaped balloons along with a teddy bear make the perfect decorations…
