Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, through later folk traditions, has become a significant cultural, religious, and commercial celebration of romance and love in many regions of the world. There are a number of martyrdom stories associated with various Valentine's connected to February 14, including an account of the imprisonment of Saint Valentine of Rome for ministering to Christians persecuted under the Roman Empire in the third century. According to an early tradition, Saint Valentine restored sight to the blind daughter of his jailer. Numerous later additions to the legend have better related it to the theme of love: an 18th-century embellishment to the legend claims he wrote the jailer's daughter a letter signed "Your Valentine" as a farewell before his execution, another addition posits that Saint Valentine performed weddings for Christian soldiers who were forbidden to marry. The Feast of Saint Valentine was established by Pope Gelasius I in AD 496 to be celebrated on February 14 in honor of Saint Valentine of Rome, who died on that date in AD 269. The day became associated with romantic love in the 14th and 15th centuries when notions of courtly love flourished, apparently by association with the "lovebirds" of early spring. In 18th-century England, it grew into an occasion in which couples expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as "valentine's"). Valentine's Day symbols that are used today include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid.

Some popular valentine's day traditions include exchanging gifts such as roses or chocolates, and a romantic night out or dinner. School children often exchange valentine's cards that may contain chocolate or small goods for friends and loved ones.

Although Valentine's Day is a relatively new holiday in Denmark (celebrated since the early 1990s according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark), the country has embraced February 14th with a Danish twist. Rather than roses, friends and sweethearts exchange pressed white flowers called snowdrops. Another popular Danish Valentine's Day tradition is the exchange of "lover's cards." While lover's cards were originally transparent cards which showed a picture of the card giver presenting a gift to his sweetheart, the term is now synonymous with any card exchanged on Valentine's Day. On February 14th, men also give women gaekkebrev, a "joking letter" consisting of a funny poem or rhyme written on intricately cut paper and signed only with anonymous dots. If a woman who receives the gaekkebrev can correctly guess the sender, she earns herself an Easter egg later that year.

In Japan, the traditional way that Valentine's Day is celebrated is for the girls to give chocolates to the boy that she likes, as well as to others where there is no romantic interest. But not all chocolates are created equal. There are two types of chocolate that the women give. One is called "giri-choco" which are quick ready-made chocolates that you give to friends and family, or people that you love in a non-romantic way. "Giri" means obligation, so these chocolates are more of an obligatory gift for loved ones to show that you care. The flip side is "honmei-chocos". Honmei-choco is given to the ones the girls are truly romantically interested in or their romantic partners. These chocolates are usually either fancier or expensive chocolates or are homemade. Whether they are homemade or not is usually significant as well. The homemade ones usually mean more and hold more significance than store-bought chocolates, no matter how fancy. Although it seems like Valentine's Day is a bit one-sided in Japan, Japan also celebrates "White Day" the next month on March 14th. People return the sentiment with gifts and chocolate to people that gave them chocolates during Valentine's Day. Traditionally this is the day when men will do the gift-giving and usually return the gifts three-fold. The gifts are usually not chocolate either but can be other types of gifts.

With a reputation as one of the most romantic destinations in the world, it's little wonder France has long celebrated Valentine's Day as a day for lovers. It's been said that the first Valentine's Day card originated in France when Charles, Duke of Orleans, sent love letters to his wife while imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1415. Today, Valentine's Day cards remain a popular tradition in France and around the world. Another traditional Valentine's Day event in France was the loterie d'amour, or "drawing for love." Men and women would fill houses that faced one another, and then take turns calling out to one another and pairing off. Men who weren't satisfied with their match could simply leave a woman for another, and the women left unmatched gathered afterward for a bonfire.

Valentine's Day is a popular holiday for young couples in South Korea, and variations of the holiday are celebrated monthly from February through April. The gift-giving starts on February 14th, when it's up to women to woo their men with chocolates, candies and flowers. The tables turn on March 14th, a holiday known as White Day, when men not only shower their sweethearts with chocolates and flowers, but up the ante with a gift. And for those who don't have much to celebrate on either Valentine's Day or White Day, there is a third holiday: Black Day. On April 14th, it's customary for singles to mourn their solitary status by eating dark bowls of jajangmyeon, or black bean-paste noodles.

You won't find the Welsh celebrating Saint Valentine, instead.. people in Wales celebrate Saint Dwynwen, the Welsh patron saint of lovers, on January 25th. One traditional romantic Welsh gift is a love spoon. As early as the 17th century, Welsh men carved intricate wooden spoons as a token of affection for the women they loved. Patterns and symbols were carved into these love spoons, each signifying a different meaning. A few examples include horseshoes, which stand for good luck, wheels, which symbolize support and keys, which symbolize the keys to a man's heart.

The equivalent to Valentine's Day in China is Qixi, or the Seventh Night Festival, which falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month each year. According to Chinese lore, Zhinu, a heavenly king's daughter, and Niulang, a poor cowherd, fell in love, married and had twins. When Zhinu father learned of their marriage, he sent his queen to bring Zhinu back to the stars. Upon hearing the cries of Niulang and the children, the king allowed Zhinu and Niulang to meet once a year on Qixi. During Qixi, young women prepare offerings of melon and other fruits to Zhinu in hopes of finding a good husband. Couples also head to temples to pray for happiness and prosperity. At night, people look to the heavens to watch the stars.

On the eve on Valentine's Day, women in England used to place five bay leaves on their pillows, one at each corner and one in the center, to bring dreams of their future husbands. Alternatively, they would wet bay leaves with rosewater and place them across their pillows. In Norfolk, Jack Valentine acts as a Santa of sorts for Valentine's Day. Children anxiously wait to hear Jack Valentine knock at their doors, and although they don't catch a glimpse of Old Father Valentine, children enjoy the candies and small gifts left on their porches.

While Valentine's Day celebrations in the Philippines are similar to celebrations in Western countries, one tradition has swept the country and led to thousands of couples sharing a wedding day on February 14th. Mass wedding ceremonies have gained popularity in the Philippines in recent years, leading hundreds of couples to gather at malls or other public areas around the country to get married or renew their vows en masse.

Originally, Italians celebrated Valentine's Day as the Spring Festival. The young and amorous gathered outside in gardens and such to enjoy poetry readings and music before taking a stroll with their beloved. Another Italian Valentine's Day tradition was for young, unmarried girls to wake up before dawn to spot their future husbands. The belief was that the first man a woman saw on Valentine's Day was the man she would marry within a year. Or he'd at least strongly resemble the man she would marry. Today, Italians celebrate Valentine's Day with gift exchanges between lovers and romantic dinners. One of the most popular Valentine's Day gifts in Italy is Baci Perugina, which are small, chocolate covered hazelnuts wrapped with a romantic quote printed in four languages.

With Carnival held sometime in February or March each year, Brazilians skip the February 14th celebration of Valentine's Day and instead celebrate Dia dos Namorados, or "Lovers' Day," on June 12th. In addition to the usual exchanges of chocolates, flowers and cards, music festivals and performances are held throughout the country. Gift giving isn't limited to couples, either. In Brazil, people celebrate this day of love by exchanging gifts and sharing dinner with friends and relatives, too.

Like many parts of the world, South Africa celebrates Valentine's Day with festivals, flowers and other tokens of love. It's also customary for women in South Africa to wear their hearts on their sleeves on February 14th, women pin the names of their love interest on their shirtsleeves, an ancient Roman tradition known as Lupercalia. In some cases, this is how South African men learn of their secret admirers.

February 7-14 is celebrated as Valentine's week in India and is witness to numerous gifts, celebrations, and love. Celebrated to honor Saint Valentine, over the years, Valentine's Day has become synonymous with grand gestures of affection. Just like most people in the world, many men and women of India, particularly young couples, celebrate Valentine’s Day in a big way. They dress in fine clothing and show their loved ones how they feel about them. Hotels and restaurants are fully booked to accommodate couples who are expressing and celebrating their love for each other. Post offices are filled with flower deliveries of flowers, packages, and romantic letters.