Ystävänpäivä

Valentine’s Day is in Finnish called Ystävänpäivä and the idea is to celebrate friendship. Ystävänpäivä in Finland is a public declaration of friendship since 1980. Friends give each other gifts and cards. This date is not connected to romantic involvements. 

In the Netherlands Valentine's Day was introduced in 1950 by the flower shops as the day of friendship. In Dutch Valentine's Day has the meaning of a greeting of love. Mainly focussed on lovers and romantic involvements.

It is a love greeting, broader connected to the "Hebban olla uogala nestas hagunnan hinase hic enda thu uuat unbidan uu nu" which means: "All birds have started building nests, except you and me, what are we waiting for?" This sentence is recognised as the start of Dutch literature in 1100.

That is a true romantic greeting of love, deeply rooted in Dutch culture, not only celebrated on the 14th of february.