The Season of Love Around the World

Valentine’s Day may have passed, but love isn’t confined to a single date on the calendar. Around the world, it looks different. It sounds different. It feels different.

And sometimes, the most meaningful way to understand love is to see how it’s celebrated beyond our own borders.

I’ve experienced Valentine’s Day in three countries — Venezuela, Italy, and the United States — and each one taught me something completely different about what love really means.

Venezuela: Love Is Shared

In Venezuela, it’s not just Valentine’s Day. It’s El Día del Amor y la Amistad — the Day of Love and Friendship.

And that distinction matters.

Love there isn’t quiet. It’s warm, expressive, and communal. You celebrate with your partner, yes — but also with your friends, your family, your coworkers. There are flowers, handwritten cards, small gifts, group plans. It feels expansive.

That’s where I learned that love isn’t limited to romance. It’s something you give and receive in every relationship. It’s shared energy. It’s laughter at a long table. It’s showing up for the people who make your life fuller.

Venezuela taught me how to feel love.

Italy: Love Is Intentional

In Italy, Valentine’s Day feels slower. More intimate. More intentional.

It’s centered around couples — romantic dinners, thoughtful presents, handwritten notes. And of course, classic gifts like Baci Perugina — little chocolates wrapped with love messages inside. You open them like a fortune cookie and read the note together.

There’s something beautiful about that simplicity. It’s not about doing the most. It’s about being present.

Italy taught me that love doesn’t need to be loud. It just needs to be real.

The United States: Love Is Chosen

In the U.S., Valentine’s Day is everywhere. Cards, candy, restaurant reservations, the pressure to “do it right.”

But it’s also where I discovered something I had never celebrated before: Galentine’s.

Here, love can mean celebrating your girlfriends. It can mean honoring the women in your life. It can mean redefining what the day looks like entirely.

That flexibility is powerful.

The U.S. taught me that love is something you choose — intentionally and on your own terms.

Same Holiday. Three Lessons.

Three countries. One holiday. Three completely different expressions of love.

Venezuela taught me how to feel it.
Italy taught me how to slow down in it.
The U.S. taught me how to choose it.

And maybe that’s what the season of love is really about — not one day, not one version, not one definition.

Love can be loud and communal.
It can be quiet and intimate.
It can be romantic, platonic, or self-defined.

It can wrap around you like comfort.
It can ground you.
It can remind you who matters.

The calendar may move on from February 14th, but the way we carry love into our lives? That lasts all year.

Here’s to celebrating it — in every form.