My mom is, aside from an exceptional gift giver, a lover of history and culture. So this Valentine’s Day I gave my mom a different sort of gift. I had someone in India call her – from India – to give her a history lesson on the history of Valentines Day in India and it’s impact on India’s culture.
What followed was a very happy mother and some fascinating information about India and the somewhat controversial celebration of Valentines Day there.
Now that I’ve read through the research that was done for my mother’s gift, I thought I’d share some of the tidbits I found most interesting:
- About 10 years ago, Valentines Day was dubbed as “another decadent influence of the west” and written-off by most. However, today Valentines Day is widely recognized and celebrated.
- A big influence on the success of Valentines Day in India was the globalization-fueled economic boom which brought with it foreign television channels that often aired Valentines Day specials.
- Weeks before Valentine’s Day, “Street Romeos” appear everywhere, reenacting Bollywood style boy-meets-girl stories.
- Protests against Valentine’s Day customs have included stealing Valentine’s Day greeting cards from and ceremonially burning them as well as threats to beat the faces and shave the heads of those who participate.
Today I went to 
I started of searching 
Earlier today I found