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Ystävänpäivä Is A Day Of Friendship
Valentine’s day is approaching and in Finland it is, (of course, what else did you expect?) a little bit different. See, in Finland we celebrate Ystävänpäivä, which is a Friendship day, rather than a day solely reserved for romantic relationships. Of course you can celebrate a proper Valentine's day in Finland with your partners as much as you want, but if you do not have that special someone in your life, you can mark this special occasion with your best friend or a group of friends!
The celebration is really not any different than you might expect in other countries. It can include dinners, gifts, special activities like movies, theatre or a fancy dinner. The importance is to give appreciation to the important relationship in your life, be it your spouse, mother or a school best friend.
Origins of Valentine's Day
There seems to be many intertwining theories about the origins of Valentines Day. One of them is that it originates from ancient Rome. There was a Roman festival of Lupercalia, held in mid-February. The festival celebrated the coming of spring, and it included fertility rites and the pairing off of women with men by lottery. When the new Pope Gelasious was elected, he quickly banned this pagan holiday. Emperor Claudius II executed two men, both named Valentine, on Feb. 14 of different years in the third century. Their martyrdom was honored by the Catholic Church so they declared February 14 to be a day of feasts to celebrate the martyred.
Some other sources mention Valentine's Day being invented by a British poet Geoffrey Chaucer, who perhaps just wanted to make his poem rhyme and combined Saint Valentine and amorous feelings together in his poem, Parlement of Foules, written in the late 14th century. Later the romantic idea of romance on Valentine’s Day was enforced by other poets, such as Shakespeare.
One story says that it was Valentine himself, who wrote a love note to his lover, before his death, and signed the letter with “from your Valentine”.
In 1537 in England, on Valentine's Day, it was permitted to send anonymous love notes to the person you admired in secret. 
History in Finland
Valentines day, or Ystävänpäivä came to Finland in the 1980's. Tampereen Sydänyhdistys - heart health organisation worked really hard to bring the idea to Finland. They designed the first Valentine’s day postcards and had volunteers dressed as bears on the streets, giving out free hugs.
It was first celebrated in 1987. They say that it was added to the Finnish official calendar by mistake, when the university 1990-1991 almanac was printed and they added the day without the university officially approving it.
The Finnish Red Cross contributed to Ystävänpäivä as well, by launching Ystäväpalvelu, a friend service for people experiencing loneliness and having difficulties finding friends in the modern and busy society. The idea was that volunteers would sign up to be a friend for a lonely person.
On Ystävänpäivä, you can find offers in shops and restaurants, even discounted flights with “Two for one prices” or “One free, when you buy two” - type of wording.
Three facts about Valentine's Day 
On Valentine’s Day Finns send the most postcards, after Christmas.
Although in Finland people send postcards to friends, more and more gifts are bought on Valentine’s Day.
In the Finnish Name Calendar, Valentine’s name is also celebrated on Valentine’s Day. It was dedicated to St. Valentinus from the year 350.
Did you know that even today, it is believed that birds choose their partners exactly on Valentine’s Day?
Minna, OLS Community Manager – Finnish