Valentine's Day is coming. This is a special date celebrated in many countries worldwide, regardless of its Christian roots.
In the last years, Valentine's Day has acquired an increasingly secular meaning and today is mainly understood as a celebration of love.
Finland is also a special place when it comes to celebrating Valentin's Day. Because in the country of ice and snow, this feast is called Ystävänpäivä and it has also acquired a very specific meaning and symbolism.
In the rest of the world, Valentine's Day may be considered as a romantic day in which lovers give each other gifts and enjoy unique experiences together. But in Finland, this celebration has become mainly a day to exalt the importance of friendship.
Cards, poems and cakes
That is why Finns, in addition to celebrating this day with their lovers, every February 14th also give gifts to their most beloved friends; they dedicate them postcards, poems, cook for them all kinds of cakes and delicacies.
In fact, Valentine's Day has become the second most popular day to send card after Christmas. Above all, Finns use Valentine’s Day to remind their friends how important they are in their lives.
This does not mean that those who come from other cultures and want to celebrate Valentine's Day as a traditional exaltation of the couple's love cannot do it like in their countries of origin. In fact, in Finland the offer of products and services to gift loving partners is endless.
