Beyond Valentine's Day: 10 Special Days of Love

While in the U.S., Valentine's Day is commonly associated with chocolate and candlelit dinners with your honey, it isn't the same for the rest of the world. In Finland and Estonia, for example, Valentine's Day is also a time to celebrate love between friends. Other places such as Brazil don't celebrate it at all. Whether you're over Valentine's Day or can't get enough of it, here are 10 more days to celebrate romantic and platonic love!

1. St. Dwynwen's Day (January 25): In Wales, the biggest romantic holiday is already past. Many couples celebrate on January 25th, which commemorates St. Dwynwen, the patron saint of Welsh lovers.

2. Leap Day (February 29): Traditionally, Leap Day is the only day that women can propose -- and if her suitor refuses her, he has to give her a gift. This could be money, a new dress, or even a dozen pairs of gloves.

3. St. George's Day (April 23): In the Spanish region of Catalonia, Valentine's Day still takes the backseat to St. George's Day. This day is also known as the Day of the Rose and the Day of the Book. On April 23rd, couples, friends, and coworkers all exchange gifts. Historically, men gave women roses, and women gave men books, although now, book exchanges have become more common. Coincidentally, this day marks the death of literary greats Miguel de Cervantes, author of "Don Quixote," and William Shakespeare.

4. White Day (March 14): In South Korea and Japan, couples celebrate two "Valentine's Days." On February 14th, women give chocolate to men and the following month on White Day, men reciprocate by giving non-chocolate candy.

5. Pepero Day (November 11): Also in South Korea, Pepero Day is when young couples exchange Pepero cookies or other gifts. In South Korea, the 14th of every month marks a romantic event, but I think that's a bit much!

6. Dragobete (February 24): In Romania, young couples traditionally exchange spring flowers. It is also a holiday to celebrate the end of winter and the start of spring.

7. May Day (May 1): In parts of Germany, instead of exchanging gifts face to face, you could leave a present for your crush! Boys would leave a May Day pole in front of a girl's house, while girls would leave rice or roses. On Leap Day, girls were responsible for placing the pole.

8. Dia dos Namorados (June 12): In Brazil, the Dia dos Namorados, literally translates to "Lovers' Day." Couples exchange gifts, chocolates, cards and flower bouquets. Valentine's Day usually falls within Brazil's carnival and is not celebrated.

9. Chinese Valentine's Day (varies): This year Chinese Valentine's Day falls on August 13th. The fairytale is a story of forbidden love: a young cowherd fails in love with a fairy, but they're cruelly separated by the Milky Way. On the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar year, magpies form a bridge so they may be reunited one night of the year.

10. Tu B'Av (varies): This year the Jewish holiday of Tu B'Av takes place on July 22nd. In addition to exchanging gifts, this day is also a common day to pop the question and tie the knot!

If there's someone special that you want to surprise, mark your calendars for February 24th's Dragobete, but until then, Happy Valentine's Day!

Check out the infographic below, by Simply Bridal, to learn more!