Valentine’s Day traditions in Spain

Love is in the air as 14th February 2025, Valentine’s Day, is almost upon us once again. Does Spain celebrate Valentine's Day? Valentine's Day, known as "El Día de San Valentín" in Spanish, is celebrated in Spain much like it is in many other parts of the world, with expressions of love and affection exchanged between partners, friends, and family members. 

Of all the traditional holidays in Spain, San Valentín is by no means the most important, but it is still widely celebrated and there are some curious and interesting facts about Valentine’s Day in Spain that you should know about. How does Spain celebrate Valentine's Day? These are our favourite Spanish Valentine's Day traditions. 

Why is it called Valentine’s Day?

Valentine's Day derives its name from Saint Valentine, an Italian native born in the Umbria region around 174 BC, who was later canonised by the Catholic Church. Spaniards hold a deep reverence for Catholic holidays due to their historical connection as a traditionally Catholic country. Each day on the calendar is dedicated to a saint, sometimes even two. Saint Valentine, symbolising health, kindness, and love (with "Valentine" itself meaning "healthy"), is typically depicted with a palm leaf and a sword, emblematic of matrimonial unity.

According to one legend, Bishop Valentine of Rome defied a papal decree prohibiting soldiers from marrying and consequently was executed on February 14th. However, numerous conflicting accounts exist regarding the life and death of Saint Valentine, many of which remain unverified. Consequently, the Catholic Church ceased official celebration of this holiday in 1969. Nonetheless, Valentine's Day remains a significant occasion worldwide.

How does Spain celebrate Valentine's Day?

Belinda Fewings on Unsplash

Is Valentine's day a holiday in Spain? While Valentine's Day is celebrated in Spain, it is not a national holiday. Like in most countries, Valentine's day in Spain is widely recognised as a day of love and romance, and is of course celebrated with all kinds of heart-shaped gifts, red roses, Spanish Valentine's Day cards, and romantic dinners at fancy restaurants. In addition to celebrating romantic love, Valentine's Day in Spain is also a day to celebrate friendship. It's common for friends to exchange cards, gifts, and tokens of appreciation.

What do Spanish people call Valentines day?

More than one "Day of Love" in Spain

While many associate mid-February with the celebration of romantic love, there are regions in Spain where the observance of "Día de los Enamorados," or "Lovers’ Day," occurs on different dates. In Barcelona, for example, the patron saint of the city is St. George, and on 23rd April each year, the Catalonian people take advantage of this festival to celebrate love and books. Around the time of the Sant Jordi festival in Barcelona, the city is traditionally filled with book fairs and people give books and roses as tokens of their love and affection. This day is also sometimes referred to as Catalan Valentine's day. 

In Valencia, however, the festivities dedicated to love take place on October 9th, coinciding with the feast of St. Dionysius, or San Dionisio. Here, the tradition involves exchanging presents, typically marzipan wrapped in handkerchiefs. Legend dictates that the recipient of this gift is to cherish the handkerchief indefinitely as a symbol of the enduring bond with their partner.

You can also celebrate not being in love

As in many other places in the world, Single’s Day is gaining ground in Spain. This is a holiday to recognise the joys and pride of being single and not in a relationship. While the Chinese typically celebrate this holiday on 11th November (11/11 because 1 is said to be the loneliest number), in other parts of the world, including Spain where it is known as El Día de los Solteros, Single’s Day, is celebrated the day before Valentine’s Day, on 13th February.

LGBTQ+ friendly

Spain regularly tops the list of the best countries in Europe to be gay, with a strong culture of gay pride and lots of specialist events. Valentine’s Day is no longer only for straight love, and Spain proves it with several LGBT+ nights traditionally happening in February in nightclubs across the country. A large number of these events tend to take place in Madrid. 

Valentine’s Day food in Spain

The best seafood in Spain comes from Galicia, like these romantic oysters Pixabay

One of the things many people do on Valentine’s Day is give chocolates, cakes and other heart-shaped or pink food to show their love. In Spain this tradition is the same, but there isn't really any specific food that Spanish people only eat at this time of the year. Nevertheless, if you want to treat your loved one to a romantic meal, Spain is the best place to do it thanks to its fresh, high-quality ingredients. You can impress your other half by cooking some traditional Spanish food such as Galician oysters, or perhaps a light and typically Spanish sweet dessert like flan de huevo, to make sure that Valentine's Day 2025 is one to be remembered.

Many restaurants and cafes also offer special Valentine's Day menus or romantic dinner packages for couples. These often include gourmet meals, champagne, and romantic ambience.

And to finish off, you need to be able to greet people on this special day; so how do you say Happy Valentine's Day in Spanish? "¡Feliz Día de San Valentín!"