Valentine’s Day has not always been a day of love. Its origins have scholars scratching their heads. Some say, the day commemorates the death of a priest, who was later sainted. At the time, Valentine was a very popular name shared by a priest, who secretly married young couples despite a decree by Emperor Claudius II, saying that soldiers should not be married. He believed, a soldier without ties at home would be more likely to fight to the death. The priest was decapitated in the year 270. Others believe Valentine’s Day is rooted in the ancient Roman pagan festival of Lupercalia. Celebrated between February 13 and 15, Lupercalia was a bloody and brutal affair held at the Lupercal cave at the base of Palatine Hill in Rome. The festival was intended to purify the city and promote fertility. It entailed ominous rituals, including sacrificing animals and the beating of women. Not very romantic at all, is it? But where does our tradition of exchanging the paraphernalia of love – hearts, cupids, flowers, cards, love letters, and the like – come from?

Valentine’s and Love

Geoffrey Chaucer, an English poet is our best clue as to when Valentine’s Day began representing love. “Geoffrey Chaucer was the first to record St. Valentine’s Day as a day of romantic celebration in his 1375 poem “Parliament of Foules”. He wrote: “For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne’s day / Whan every foul cometh there to choose his mate.” Written ‘Valentines’ began appearing in 1400, and Shakespeare referenced Valentine’s Day three times in his plays in the early 1600s. In the 1800s, Esther Howland began mass-producing Valentine’s Day cards and popularized them in America. She is often referred to as “the mother of the American Valentine”. Her hand-crafted cards featured glitter, lace, and silk and are much sought-after collectors’ items.

Today, according to the Greeting Card Association, Valentine’s Day is the second most popular holiday (after Christmas) for Americans to send greeting cards. The U.S. trade association counts an estimated 145 million cards sold each year.

Cupid’s Arrow(s) of Love

The Roman god Cupid is the equivalent of Eros in Greek mythology. The story goes that Cupid had two sets of arrows – a gold-tipped one that would make people fall hopelessly in love, and one tipped with lead or silver, ensuring that the targeted person would feel aversion, rather than love. Over time, especially as the Greeks entered the Hellenistic period, which was known for its decadence, Cupid – or Eros – became increasingly portrayed as a playful, mischievous child, which has now been morphed into the small baby cherub that we associate with Valentine’s Day and love.

Did you know that in America, Cupid is always depicted wearing a diaper – and in the rest of the world, he is quite unashamedly naked? The diaper is most likely just for modesty’s sake and something to consider in international marketing campaigns for Valentine’s Day!

Valentine’s Around the Globe

Far from being a big commercial holiday in just the English-speaking world (mainly the US, Canada, Great Britain, Australia), the waves of love have reached the shores of more than 30 countries around the world. But Valentine’s – or the Day of Love – is not necessarily celebrated on February 14th everywhere! Let’s just give you a taste of a few cultures and traditions.

In Argentina, Latin passions cannot be contained into just one day: instead, they have set aside a whole week in July as “Sweetness Week” (Semana de la Dulzura), when lovers and friends exchange candies, kisses, and good cheer.

Brazil does not celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 14, as it falls too close to the weeklong Carnival celebrations. Instead, June 12 is their special “Dia dos enamorados” (“Lovers’ day”), where couples exchange gifts, cards, and candy.

China‘s Valentine’s equivalent is the Qixi Festival, celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh month of China’s lunar year. This tradition is based on an ancient Chinese story about a forbidden love affair between a celestial being and a mortal man.

In Finland and Estonia, February 14 is celebrated as the more platonic Friends Day. People give cards to loved ones, friends, and neighbors, however, the day is also a popular date for marriage proposals.

France, of course, is a lover’s paradise, and couples flock to Paris for Valentine’s Day every year. But – the French really only celebrate being in love on that day, and is therefore more of a day of affirmation than trying to start up a new passion. There is no “secret Valentine” like in America, because – well, you love whom you love!

In Ireland, people in search of true love make a pilgrimage to the Shrine of St. Valentine in Dublin, which allegedly houses relics of the original Roman priest mentioned at the start.

The country of romance and passion, Italy, couldn’t possibly pass up a chance to honor the day of love. Couples on Valentine’s Day give each other gifts like the baci perugina, a small box of hazelnut-filled chocolate kisses (baci means “kisses” in Italian). By the way: An older Italian tradition states that the first man a single woman sees on Valentine’s Day will become her husband within the year.

Bottom line

We could go on with the peculiarities of Valentine’s Day around the world forever – but I think the point here is clear. In terms of e-commerce marketing and sales potential, Valentine’s Day is huge. Card sales alone make the point for us. However, depending on your target market, it is important to be in tune with your audiences, their expectations, and norms – plus the fact that they might not even celebrate Valentine’s Day or its similar iterations on February 14th. The way you present your marketing efforts visually can be very important as well: Americans would not appreciate a campaign featuring buck-naked cupids, while Italians would find a diapered bottom on the cherub quite laughable. And – of course – a Valentine’s Day campaign in Brazil would simply not have much impact at all on the day, as the country is focused on other things.

As always, marketing and e-commerce in international markets needs to be fine-tuned and targeted. Efforts for internationalization and therefore the translation of content must entail the work of natives to the respective language and culture to ensure success.



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