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Ashlyn Chak

For Chinese people, this week calls for a double celebration as, for the first time since 2022, Valentine’s Day, on February 14, and the Lantern Festival, which falls on February 12 this year, occur in the same week.
The Lantern Festival, on the 15th day of the first lunar month, marks the first full moon of the Year of the Snake.
It is a time for families, friends and lovers to come together and celebrate their union by enjoying tangyuan (glutinous rice balls), admiring lanterns and observing the moon.
Different cultures in Asia have their own versions of lovers’ days, and customs associated with them.

Mainland China
Aside from the Lantern Festival in the first lunar month, contemporary Chinese culture has two other festivals catering more specifically to romantic love.
The first one is May 20, because the numbers 5, 2 and 0 have a phonetic resemblance to wo ai ni, meaning “I love you” in Mandarin.
Because it is an unofficial Valentine’s Day with no real historic significance, “520” is a mostly commercial festival; most couples celebrate with elaborate dates and presents.
The more historic and romantic Chinese Valentine’s Day is the Qixi Festival on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. In 2025, it falls on August 29.
The Qixi Festival can be traced back to the Han dynasty (206BC to AD220), when a folk tale about a mythical couple, the cowherd and the weaver girl, began circulating.
Today, more traditional couples in mainland China celebrate Qixi by releasing paper lanterns and making wishes on trees, and it is a good time for weddings.

Japan
Valentine’s Day was introduced to Japan in the 1930s by a Russian-founded, Kobe-headquartered confectionery brand, which advertised chocolates in heart-shaped packaging to foreigners in Japan as an expression of love.
From the 1950s, the practice became more commonplace as other chocolatiers caught on and turned chocolate-giving into a national phenomenon.
Over the decades, February 14 has become the day when women give chocolates (tomo-choco, “friend chocolate” and giri-choco, “obligation chocolate”) to their friends and male colleagues, but reserve special ones (honmei-choco, “true love chocolate”) for their romantic interests.
Men return the favour a month later, on “White Day”, March 14, by giving white chocolates, marshmallows and other gifts to the women.

South Korea
Influenced by its East Asian neighbour, South Korea shares Japan’s chocolate-giving customs on February 14 and March 14, but it has also developed its own “Black Day” for the unattached.
After the chocolates on Valentine’s Day and “White Day”, April 14 marks “Black Day”, when single South Koreans dress in all-black outfits and eat jajangmyeon (noodles in black bean sauce) to counter the public displays of affection they were forced to witness in the previous two months.
There is, perhaps understandably, a lot less marketing surrounding “Black Day” as it is much less observed than its romantic counterparts.

The Philippines
Not many countries take Valentine’s Day as seriously as the Philippines.
Every year on February 14, local governments – and sometimes charitable groups – fund mass weddings for hundreds of couples around the country. Requirements vary, but most couples are only asked to register before the ceremony and to wear wedding attire.
To the couples who may not be able to afford a wedding, these large-scale, free-of-charge or reduced-cost weddings are a public service acting as down-to-earth, barrier-free celebrations of love.
Elsewhere in Asia, in more conservative countries, the Western Valentine’s Day is greatly frowned upon, as it does not express traditional cultural values.
Valentine’s Day celebrations are banned, to different extents, in Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan, while far-right protests have erupted in recent years in India, Indonesia and Malaysia on February 14.


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Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day and its Asian versions, from Japan’s White Day to the Qixi festival

East Asian cultures celebrate the Western Valentine’s Day as well as their own equivalents and other occasions for romance. Photo: May Tse

Lantern Festival falls in the same week as Valentine’s Day in 2025. Photo: Edmond So

A heart-shaped display at a department store in Tokyo, Japan. Giving chocolates on Valentine’s Day has become a Japanese tradition. Photo: AFP

On Black Day in South Korea, single people dress in black and eat noodles in black bean sauce. Photo: Shutterstock

Women sell heart-shaped balloons for Valentine’s Day at a flower market in Manila, the Philippines. Photo: AP 

How the heart became the symbol of love for another and, thanks to a T-shirt, a city

A  couple photograph themselves in front of balloons in a heart shape in a shopping mall in Wuhan, central China, on Valentine’s Day in 2021. Photo: Getty Images

A silver coin dating to 510–470BC excavated from the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Cyrene.

A woman holds up a heart she has received from the man facing her in an illustration from The Romance of Alexander, a 14th century French manuscript. 

A stained-glass window depicting Jesus Christ with a heart on his breast, exemplifying faith and ultimate love. Getty Images

Visitors to New York in 2016 wear matching T-shirts. Milton Glaser’s design for the shirt transformed the heart shape, its meaning no longer confined to romantic love but extended to include civic feelings. Photo: Getty Images

K-pop star Dahyun of girl group Twice makes Korean finger hearts at a photo call for Korean music awards. Photo: Getty Images

12 Valentine’s Day dining ideas in Hong Kong, for dinner, lunch and a pet-friendly feast

The Valentine’s Day dinner at Uma Nota in  Central, Hong Kong, includes a Brazilian love dessert of apple ganache, apple jelly and vanilla sponge cake. Photo: Uma Nota

Honey-roasted French pigeon from Finds, a Nordic restaurant at The Luxe Manor in Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: Finds

Lovers can share the green tea tiramisu at Somm, in the Landmark Mandarin Oriental hotel, in Central. Photo: Somm

Michelin-star Man Ho Chinese restaurant in Admiralty is serving a romantic menu for two on February 14. Photo: Man Ho

Smoked French pigeon with pan-seared foie gras, part of the Valentine’s Day menu at Salon Lanson. Photo: Salon Lanson

Aqua, in Tsim Sha Tsui, is dishing up a plain chocolate lava cake set with a gianduja crepe that can have a personalised message written on it in chocolate. Photo: Aqua

Caprice at the Four Seasons in Central is serving a six-course Valentine’s Day dinner. Photo: Caprice

CulinArt 1862 is celebrating Valentine’s Day with a tasting menu. Photo: CulinArt 1862

Dessert options on District 8’s Valentine’s Day menu include the Paris Brest with strawberry cream, almond flakes and Chantilly cream. Photo: District 8 

Is snake soup as good for you as many Chinese believe? To me it’s hot and that’s enough

Snake soup at Ser Wong Fun restaurant in Hong Kong’s Central district. As the Year of the Snake begins the dish is popular, not because of the Chinese zodiac but because of the weather. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Medicinal properties have long been ascribed to snake soup by Chinese people. Photo; Shutterstock

Snakes hang from a wooden cabinet marked with the Chinese characters “poisonous snake”, at a snake soup shop ahead of the Spring Festival in Hong Kong. Photo: Reuters

In Year of the Snake 2025, is bad luck predicted for you? 5 ways to change your fortunes

Every year in the Chinese lunisolar calendar, some zodiac signs clash with the guardian deity, bringing bad luck to people born under those signs. But there are things they can do to improve their luck. Photo: Getty Images

Chinese people like to learn their future by visiting a fortune-teller. If bad luck awaits some in the Year of the Snake, there are steps they can take to improve their prospects. Photo: Shutterstock

Performing a ritual at a temple that grants you a protective talisman is one way to mitigate bad luck resulting from a clash between your zodiac sign and the guardian deity. Photo: Shutterstock

Women’s red underwear. Wearing red undergarments is believed to improve luck. Photo: Getty Images

Wearing an amulet of another zodiac sign can ward off bad luck. In the Year of the Snake, a rooster amulet will help those born in the Year of the Snake. Photo: Shutterstock

Lifestyle

Chinese culture

Family & Relationships

As well as Valentine’s Day, Japanese celebrate White Day and mainland Chinese the ‘520’ festival, while Korea’s Black Day is for singles


As well as Valentine’s Day, Japanese celebrate White Day and mainland Chinese the ‘520’ festival, while Korea’s Black Day is for singles.


Lunar New Year

Valentine’s Day and its Asian versions, from Japan’s White Day to the Qixi festival

As well as Valentine’s Day, Japanese celebrate White Day and mainland Chinese the ‘520’ festival, while Korea’s Black Day is for singles

Mainland China

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