Greetings Stamp

The global celebration of romantic love known as Valentine’s Day has been observed in Slovenia since the end of the twentieth century. Before that, the Feast of St Valentine was above all a celebration of early spring and one of the dates in the calendar associated with the mating seasons of birds and the reawakening of nature after the winter. The latter is referred to in the old saying “Valentine brings the keys to unlock the roots”.

The introduction of new globalised content to this traditional feast day took place rapidly and was largely based on consumerism. An important role in the popularisation of Valentine’s Day was played by print media, which began to publish articles and images of Valentine’s Day customs and traditions around the world. Tellingly, there are those who see Valentine’s Day as a purely commercial occasion.

Yet the essence of this celebration is still linked to love, in other words to relationships between individuals, at all stages of life. Love is one of the most powerful forces that exists, but we must still be careful to develop, nurture and consolidate it. It is part of our lives from the moment we are born until old age, taking on different forms and expressing itself in different ways in each new phase that we live through.

Janez Bogataj