Forget Romance! These countries celebrate friendships on Valentine’s day

Should Valentine’s day be strictly for lovers? These same lovers who might eventually break your heart? What about the friends who mend it—don’t they deserve to be celebrated too?

Love, love, love, love, love! its enough! Before you met your partner, you had friends, right? And when they annoy you, who do you run to? Your friends! So why not celebrate them on Valentine’s Day? After all the hours of listening and free therapy, don’t they deserve some appreciation too?

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At least the people in Estonia and Finland get it! They celebrate February 14th as Friend’s Day-honoring platonic love. Do they have two heads? Celebrations of romantic love do not take center stage in these countries on Valentine's day because they believe that friends are as important as everyone else in your life.

I’m sure singles in these countries don’t dread Valentine’s Day! Friend’s Day is for everyone—singles, couples, and families alike. They celebrate with shared meals, fun gatherings, and activities like skating or sledding.

The holiday began in Finland in the 1980s and made its way south to nearby Estonia by the end of the decade. While Friend’s Day was only officially included in Finnish calendars in 1996, the tradition has become deeply ingrained in the cultural fabric of Finnish society and today is widely celebrated throughout the country. Friend’s Day is the second most popular card giving holiday in Finland.

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Did you know July 30 is the United Nations International Day of Friendship? No? Because all you think about is love! But friendship is celebrated worldwide on different dates—Paraguay joins the UN on July 30, while Argentina, Brazil, and Spain mark it on July 20. In India and the US, it falls on the first Sunday in August, while Finland and Estonia celebrate it on Valentine’s Day, February 14.

If Finland and Estonia can do it, so can you! The idea is to celebrate friendship. So if you happen to be single, there’s no reason to feel down on Valentine’s Day—celebrate your friends because friends are forever! Well...not all, but you get my point.

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