Por Miriam Velázquez 
As in other nations, in Cuba we also usually call it the Day of Love and Friendship; However, not all of them are celebrated in the same way, not even on February 14.
According to the digital Wikipedia, in Argentina the union between couples is celebrated and it is not common to send cards or hearts, a gesture considered more typical of the Anglo-Saxon world.
It is not the only day related to love either: the Week of Sweetness, prior to Friends’ Day (July 20) has become very popular and during it sweets and kisses are given away.
The Bolivians, for their part, chose July 23 for this commemoration, while the Brazilians chose June 12. In both places, wedding couples exchange gifts and cards.
In China there was already Qi Qiao Jie, (day to show skills) making it coincide with the seventh day of the 7th month of the lunar calendar; and in Egypt, the selected date was November 4.
September was also the month chosen by Colombians, specifically the third Saturday, when they make a ‘secret friend’ in the same way we do on other occasions.
The custom of ‘sweetening’ is also popular, consisting of anonymously giving sweets, food, chocolates, love letters, roses, etc. voluntarily until the day the final gift must be delivered and anonymity broken if desired.
Like us, Chileans, Costa Ricans, Nicaraguans, Spaniards, Peruvians, Uruguayans, Venezuelans, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Mexicans and Ecuadorians celebrate Valentine’s Day today.
Indiscriminately, roses, cards, serenades, nightly dinners between married couples and friends, as well as sweets and chocolates are conferred.
And speaking of chocolates, it is striking that Valentine’s Day has been celebrated in Japan since February 1958, initially driven by the mercantilistic interests of the Morozoff chocolate company.
As a particularity, the fact that it is women who give them to men, whether they are family members, friends or co-workers, stands out.
In the latter case, the gift becomes almost an obligation, since they must donate such candy to all their colleagues. The man the woman truly loves gets the favorite.
As a kind of compensation invented by pastry chefs in 1980, men return the favor a month later, on March 14, a celebration known as White Day in which white presents are usually offered such as white chocolate, marshmallows or even , underwear.
As you can see, whether it arose for noble or lucrative purposes, Valentine’s Day became a special occasion to express the love we feel towards another person. (ALH)
Translated by Casterman Medina de Leon