Valentine’s Day in Peru: How Do Peruvians Celebrate the Day of Love?

February is getting closer and closer. That can only mean one thing.

Día del Amor y la Amistad.

In Peru, it translates to “The Day of Love and Friendship,” a rather accurate name for Valentine’s Day. To Peruvians, this holiday isn’t just for couples, but for friends and family as well. While there are so many things being sold (flowers, chocolates, and heart-shaped balloons) that are meant for lovers, there are also some items that can be given to your parents or friends too.

People in Peru celebrate this day just like the rest of the world – with standard dating practices and gift-giving that have become more and more common over the past decades. Couples go on romantic dates and friends hang out and bond. While it isn’t a non-working holiday, it’s still a festive occasion for everyone.

There are just some key differences, though.

Orchids Instead of Roses

In Peru, they don’t give roses to their loved ones as a sign of affection. Instead, they give each other orchids. Not only are they abundant, but they also signify love, strength, grace, and luxury.

Orchids also have a great history in Peru, though it’s more of a myth than anything else. According to the Incan Myth, a princess fell in love with a warrior from the kingdom of the Andes. But her father forbade their love, stating that she was destined to be wed to the Sun God.

The heartbroken princess ran away and then turned into the beautiful “Waqanki” flower. As you do, of course. Because beautiful women turn into flowers when convenient in these dramatic myths. And whenever that warrior passes by a Waqanki, he would cry as he remembers his love.

As you may have already guessed, this Waqanki is an orchid. And since then, it has been recognized as the symbol of love in Peru.

Dating During Valentine’s Day

Candlelit dinners, picnics, going to the movies, and so on – these are standard activities that couples usually take part in on February 14th. They aren’t any less special just because they’re common. But for those couples who prefer to have a little bit of thrill and adventure in their lives, they go out.

Couples who like to think outside the box will uproot themselves temporarily to go traveling with their lover. Date ideas run rampant in their minds as they think of plans on how to do all of them in the span of one day.

If they really want to get a little crazy, they might even go bungee jumping or skydiving instead of settling down for a simple meal.

This is probably because Valentine’s Day has become so commercialized in Peru. Hotels, inns, restaurants, and many other establishments are fully booked despite the increase in rates. Tickets for shows become sold out days before the month of February arrives.

Like most people, Peruvians like to have fun, and of course, establishments learned to market the holiday in the name of love.

So if you want to find a nice room for you and your Peruvian girlfriend, you might have to plan on reservations as soon as possible.

Other than that, here are some other thrilling date ideas that you can try:

• Explore a random city or town in Peru.

• Go to every event in your area and give yourselves a time limit as to how long you will stay and have fun before going to the next one.

• Find a beach that has all sorts of water sports and try all of them.

• Have fun in a kid’s play place and relive your childhood.

• Play laser tag.

• Try something new like going fishing, spending a night at the theater, or even camping under the stars.

• Go racing via horses or go karts.

Gift-Giving

Personally, I think Valentine’s is just the same as Christmas. Except it’s a lot redder than the Yuletide Season. With the amount of gift-giving February 14th boasts and with so many girly things being sold in almost every store you go to, it feels like it’s December 25th all over again, only this time it’s been repackaged into what we all know as Valentine’s Day.

Granted, the gifts being sold during this holiday are a lot more adult than Christmas itself. Valentine’s chocolates, flowers, perfumes, jewelry, giant teddy bears, mature “toys,” and basically anything that could be given to a lover instead of a family member is being sold here and there.

Some of these gifts come in sets too. If you try to buy a box of gourmet chocolates, it will probably come with a bouquet of flowers or even just a single rose.

Perfumes, instead of being sold in giant bottles, are being repackaged into tiny bottles, where they are bundled up with other scents under the same brand. This is so that the user can have different options depending on the occasion or their mood.

Even giant teddy bears are being sold with not just a bouquet of flowers, but also a basket of high quality chocolates next to them.

Of course, what is a consumer supposed to do about such a commercialized holiday other than buy extravagant things, right?

But it’s not all bad since a lot of these are on discount. They kind of have to make them slightly cheaper since they would all be useless as soon as February 15 arrives. All of these items are only good for Valentine’s Day itself. After that, they are just normal items you can buy in malls.

Peruvian Carnivals

This is the best part about being in Peru in February. The country goes all out on their festivals during this month and they are known all over the world for their amazing carnivals. And it isn’t just Valentine’s Day they look forward to, either.

They have the 18-day Fiesta de la Virgen de la Candelaria, their Carnival season, Pisco Sour Day, Luchas de Toqto, and Festival del Verano Negro. It makes one think of just staying in the country for the entirety of the month just so they could enjoy all of the festivals.

Well, vacations could happen on a holiday like Valentine’s Day too, so why not? With February fast approaching and the festivals getting ready for local and foreign guests, why not book a plane ticket as soon as you can?