It’s February and that means Valentine's Day is coming soon. No matter if you love Valentine’s Day or do not care at all, it can be a fun celebration when you manage to make the day your own.
In Germany for example, Valentines Day isn’t a very popular holiday, even so the popularity is growing over the last years as it is seen as another day of commercialism. So, how can we make our own Valentines traditions away from the unhealthy and unsustainable Valentines mainstream?
1. Understand The Power Of Love | Valentine’s Day Ideas
You might wonder why you should celebrate Valentine's Day at all if you don’t have anyone to celebrate with. But Valentine's Day is nothing more than a day of celebrating love and we all have something or someone to love. Yourself is the best person to start with.
Loving yourself is something that might sound strange and ecocentric to you at first. But it is honestly the best basis to love others. Without your own connection to yourself, you might look for it elsewhere and never find it.
There are some wonderful spiritual practices about self-love that you might find helpful on your journey to understand the true power of love.
One practice of self-love that I was introduced to by a spiritual teacher once, was the mirror work by Louise Hay. Day 1 starts with a very simple exercise of looking into a mirror, taking a deep breath and saying the affirmation. (Name) I’m learning to really like you. (Name) I’m learning to really love you. Repeat this several times throughout the day when you pass a mirror. The first time you are going to do this method, it might feel strange. But in time, it will make you more aware of your words, help you to focus on positive thoughts and become at peace with yourself to create a happier life for yourself.
2. Make Fast Healthy Raw Vegan Chocolate | Valentine’s Day Ideas
Valentine’s Day and Chocolate go together like Hugs and Kisses. Chocolate simply tastes good but the sugar and cocoa butter in regular chocolate isn’t healthy for us (Let’s not start on milk…). This isn’t surprising to many of us. Yet, the actual unsweetened cocoa powder is healthy as one of my favorite American doctors Dr. Gregers explains in his video.
Cocoa Powder itself is even scientifically proven to have beneficial effects on chronic diseases by giving a boost in arterial function.
The healthiest way would be to simply add unsweetened cocoa powder to any of your meals like your breakfast oatmeal. But sometimes, like on Valentine’s Day, we desire to eat real chocolate. So let’s make it raw vegan.
For these chocolate pralines you need:
¼ cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ cup of carob powder
→ If you don’t have carob powder, you can also use only ½ cup of cacao powder.
½ cup of coconut oil
⅓ cup of date syrup
You can also add the following extras for variations:
- goji berries
- nuts
- coconut milk powder
- vanilla
- peanut butter
3. Decorate with decoration that looks good all-year-round | Valentine’s Day Ideas
The right decoration is crucial for creating an ambience that sets you in the right mood and should be cruelty free. But can it really affect the way we feel? Have you ever heard of neuro-architecture? It basically is “the study of how the body and brain respond to the built environment.”
By finding out what makes us happy and what makes us unhappy and incorporating this knowledge into our interior design, we can improve our mood. One suggestion is to change our environment on a yearly basis to influence how we navigate and interact through our environment.
I love to change our home decor several times throughout the year by decorating for holidays and swapping (wall) decoration out. A great start can be to decorate for Valentine’s Day with romantic lights, candles, hearts and real flowers. It’s even better when you consider the environmental impact of your decoration and choose decor that you’re certain is not a single-use product and can be reused next year or even throughout the year again.
4. Get dressed in an outfit that you keep | Valentine’s Day Ideas
Women's Shirt "Be my Valentine"
We are repeating holidays year after year, so why not repeat our outfits in the same way? I am a big supporter of repeating outfits and choosing holiday clothing that is beautiful and “generic” enough to wear throughout the year.
A survey in England from 2019 conducted by Censuswide for the charity Barnardo’s found out by interviewing 2000 people that garments bought for summer holidays are probably only worn once as a quarter of the people showed embarrassment to wear an outfit to a special occasion more than once.
There is no question that this needs to change but it doesn’t mean that you need to dispose your holiday outfits if you can find ways to style them in different ways for other days as well. Scarfs, neckties, jackets and jewellery can make the same outfit look different and unique when using them all-year-round.
5. Be a blessing to others | Valentine’s Day Ideas
You might have heard this before but “giving to others is a wealth that can’t be measured.” When we look back at the true meaning of Valentine’s Day, then it is to love one another and to be a blessing to each other. Talking and listening, playing an instrument, singing or reading a book are all small things we can do for someone which can have a big impact.
Finally, I wish you a Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you found inspiration and Valentine’s Day Ideas in this article on how to start your own Valentine’s Day traditions and find the true meaning of this holiday. May you be blessed by love and surrounded by your loved ones while living a healthy lifestyle that is in accordance with nature.
I love to hear from you! What are your favorite Valentine’s Day Ideas and your traditions? Simply comment below!