Over the last 15 years since living and travelling all over the place I have been discovering that many things are interpreted differently from country to country. Chocolate being one of them!
Last summer as a family we sampled the local offering here in Ohio, seeing what would Pass the Taste Test of our English palates. Just before Christmas we turned the tables and invited some American friends to see what they made of some Brit Chocolate that we brought back with us after a trip home.
Mark's recent travels brought him home just two day's before Valentines day. While he was away he sent me a dozen hand-dipped chocolate covered strawberries ... the biggest most delicious strawberries you've ever tasted. When he came back he also bought some hilariously named yet delicious yumminess from his travels for a Valentines treat! 'Lover' chocolate wafers from Papua New Guinea and 'Meltykiss' from Japan. Too funny!
Valentines is celebrated very differently in the States from how we're used to celebrating in England. We're used to sending a card and possibly chocolates, flowers, jewellery, cute cuddly toys to your one loved one. Here in the States there are Valentines for every member of your family and basically every friend you've ever met, if you go all out. There are baking tins, tablecloths and settings, toys, balloons, boxes of cards (Toy Story, Hello Kitty etc) for kids to give all their friends just like boxes of Christmas cards ... the list goes on.
In our family we don't do too much, there isn't always even a card. Maybe I'd go out for dinner on some date around February 14th with my husband, maybe not. We do wish each other a Happy Valentines and tell the other how much we love them ... but we do the latter most days anyway. I just love observing how each culture tweaks the same celebrations/holidays and puts their own unique twist on it.
This kind of thing interests me as well. We usually have a date night, but we don't necessarily go out. We stayed home this year and had a late dinner after the kids were in bed, and we do give our kiddos cards. That's as far as it goes for us. I love the opportunity to lavish love on the people I love in special ways, so I enjoy Valentine's Day very much!
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