Happy Valentine’s Day week and Gung hay fat choy–happy Year of the Tiger! Why worry about getting chocolate when you can share Valentine’s cheer with a friend or fellow single gal in need. From the fun to the meaningful—here are some global traditions in which single women receive gifts or money.
In Mexico, Guatemala and in El Salvador, Valentine’s Day is known as “Día del Amor y la Amistad,” or day of love and friendship. Similar to North American celebrations, it’s also common for people to be kind to their single friends, doing “acts of appreciation.”
On February 14th, the Chinese lunar calendar rolls into the Year of the Tiger. Red envelopes, decorated with lucky symbols are filled with money and given to children or unmarried family members. Mei, 32 from Beijing, says that envelopes are usually filled with an even amount cash (but not four, which in Chinese means death) and are given to single people as a wish for an auspicious year financially.
In South Korea, singles are increasingly celebrating their single status on Black day, April 14th by eating a black noodle dish. Reuters reports that Black Day events have become a major economic force with retailers and services offered specifically for singles on that day.
In India, single women were given small gifts of gold or gold adornment/jewelry from the time they were small, for birthdays and holidays–for their marriage dowry. Rao, 34, from Mumbai shares that it’s not just for a marriage dowry anymore, but for their future-single or married. “Now, small gifts of gold bouillon and jewelry are given to single women who are encouraged to accumulate this gold as a fiscally smart bet against inflation.”
On a more serious note, giving goats to single women in rural areas like Rajasthan or Andhra Pradesh has the effect of really making those women lucky—it gives them economic power. Giving goats to single women actually amounts to political activism in these areas, making the collection of single women more powerful under a government which doesn’t recognize them as a family unit
Whether you choose to give your single friends lucky money in a red envelope, take them for some black noodles or give a micro-loan http://www.kiva.org/ to a single sister across the globe—here’s to a financially healthy year for all we single gals!
