As war clouds slowly disappeared from Germany’s skies, love blossomed. Freed from the shackles of fear, lovers found a new medium for expressing their eternal love for each other. Exchange of presents between couples on Valentine’s Day became popular in Germany only after World War II. And, Valentine’s Day became a red-letter day in the calendar of all those struck by Cupid’s arrows.

Today, it has become customary for the young man (of the courting couple) to present his beloved flowers on Valentine’s Day – which are, of course, red roses.

Love tokens accompanied by sentimental love messages soon made their way into the markets and flew off the shelves as Valentine’s Day approached. Interestingly, these were not restricted to Valentine’s Day alone but were often given on any other day as well.

In Germany, it was also not unusual to consider baptism certificates or marriage certificates as ‘valentines’.