Valentine’s Day Around the World
Activity 1: read these texts and match the countries; Japan, England, The United States, Denmark
Activity 2: find synonyms in the text for the words under each box.
Valentine's Day has been commercialised to a great extent in this country. It is estimated that it is one of
the most popular days to send cards in the country. Days before the festival, shop owners create a festive
look to lure consumers. Popular gifts that are exchanged on the day include cards, fresh flowers (mainly
roses) and chocolates. An interesting part of Valentine's Day in this country are the celebrations organised
by kids. Schools organise Valentine's Day programmes where children perform songs, dances, and plays.
Children also give handmade gifts and cards to their friends and teachers.
Aspect………………
Degree…………....
Predominantly………………
Attract…………… Swapped……………..
Unmarried girls in this country (and also in Italy) used to wake up before dawn on Valentine's Day. They
believed that the first man they saw on Valentine's Day would marry them within a year. Therefore, girls
used to rise early to stand by their window and wait hopefully for the man to pass.
Sunrise……………..
Wake up………………
Expectantly……….………
Consequently…………….
There’s a strong tradition of women giving chocolates to men on Valentine’s Day in this country. Two
types of chocolate are popular for Valentine's Day. The girls buy one type of chocolate (called giri-choco)
for friends, bosses, colleagues and close male friends. However, it’s slightly different for boyfriends,
lovers or husbands. In this instance, girls buy chocolates called hon-mei. Many girls think that it is not
true love if they buy Valentine's Day chocolates for their boyfriend and therefore hon-mei-choco is
usually prepared by girls themselves. Men feel lucky if they receive hon-mei chocolates on Valentine's
Day.
Thus……………. (formal writing) Sort…………….
A little…………….
Purchase………………
Example…………….
Young couples write special love poems, romantic love notes, and funny poems known as 'gaekkebrev'. It
is customary for the sender of gaekkebrev to write a rhyme for his beloved. He is not required to put his
name on it. Instead, he signs the message with dots. The girl who receives the card is supposed to guess
the name of the sender. If she is able to guess the right name, then she is rewarded with an 'Easter Egg' in
the same year.
Loved one………………
Usual…………….
Alternatively…………….
Obligated…………….
Amusing……………..
Activity 3: look at the names for different types of love below. What do they mean and have you
experienced any of them?
Unrequited love…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Puppy love……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………
Platonic love……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………
Unconditional love…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Tough love……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………
Notes:
Activity 1 Answers: The United States, England, Japan, Denmark
Discussion: at this point or after activity 2, you could also ask students what they think about these
different traditions.
Activity 2 Synonym Answers: Where necessary give written examples on the board (I have mentioned any
synonyms which might need further explaining)
Part, extent, mainly, lure, exchanged - ‘to lure’ has a connection to the adjective ‘alluring’ which some
students recognised from the popular perfume ‘Allure’. ‘To what extent/degree do you agree’ has a similar
meaning to ‘How much do you agree’ which students found easy to understand.
Dawn, rise, hopefully, therefore
Therefore, type, slightly, buy, instance – instance can also be used to replace ‘example’ in ‘For example
(instance)’.
Beloved, customary, instead, require, funny – ‘customary’ can be replaced with the words ‘usual,
traditional and common’ which students also offered as synonyms.
‘Instead’ and ‘alternatively’ have a similar meaning, but it’s useful to highlight that ‘alternatively’ should be
used at the beginning of sentences, whereas ‘instead’ can go at the beginning or the end.
Activity 3:
The only thing I would mention here is that I did this with a group of Spanish students and ‘platonic love’ in
Spanish has a completely different definition to the one in England despite having the same name. Find out
the exact meaning from them as I can’t quite recall it!
Unrequited - /ʌnrikwaɪtid/
Discussion: this activity can lead into some nice speaking practice about their experiences and opinions of each type
of love.