Valentine’s Day is a special event in most countries. The way it is celebrated in Japan is a bit different. In most cases, people give presents or exchange presents to someone regardless of gender. However, for Japanese, during Valentine’s Day, women give chocolates to men and then in the following month, March 14 (White Day) , men give presents to women. During Valentine's Day, the town becomes so colorful as the streets are filled with vendors selling flowers, stuffed toys, and sweets. The town seems to be full of love.

It seems there are various opinions or stories about the origin of Valentine’s Day, but the history of this day seems to date back to the Roman Empire. Aside from the commonly known story of St. Valentine, another story is about the Lupercalia Festival. It was said to be one of the origins of Valentine’s. In the past, men and women lived separately without many chances of meeting. In the Lupercalia Festival, women would write their names on a piece of paper which the men would later draw like a lottery. The chosen name would then be the man’s partner in the celebration. They will get to know each other and spend the celebration together. Most partners would then decide to meet again in the future and somehow get married.

What came to be called Valentine's Day came from the name of a person called Valentinus (Valentine), who was a Christian priest. Soldiers are not allowed to get married so that they will concentrate on war under the rule of the Roman Empire. There was a period of time where the priest Valentinus who thought it poorly was doing secret wedding ceremonies of soldiers without permission. But it was discovered and the priest Valentinus was set to be executed. The day of the execution was held a day before the Lupercalia Festival which is February 14. After that, the story stuck and it seems that it became a date for lovers.

Valentine’s Day or Hearts Day is a day to express your feelings to your loved ones which I came to know here in Cebu. As a Japanese, I feel that people in Cebu celebrate this special day very well with love.