The answer has to do with connecting with others, no matter the place, language or culture they belong to.

Lover is a small village located in Wiltshire, England. It’s a rural community and not well-known as a major tourist destination. The village has a small population and yet, with an initiative of cards that travel all over the world, it managed in 2022 to raise money, spread warm hearted messages and break down all the barriers they encountered  to make this tiny village grow, and make the whole world feel like a cozier place.  

Send a little love

In the run up to Valentine’s Day, they launched a project to encourage people to show affection to those they missed during lockdown. The campaign was called “Send a little love” and it created its own postmark and marketing all over the place, on and offline. 

The Chairman of Lover Community Trust, known as Mr. Gibbs said the project sent cards to every continent. Something pretty big for such a small town world. That he even saw one come through with the address and message all in Chinese characters inside. And that somehow, they went as far as sending cards to scientists in Antarctica.

Postcards

It’s common for small communities to have community trusts that provide funding for community projects, supporting local businesses and organizations, and promoting community engagement. These organizations play an important role in maintaining the vitality of small towns and villages by helping to sustain and improve the quality of life for residents. But the wittiness of taking something as iconic yet sometimes ignored as the name of a place, and turning it into something wonderful to share with everyone, no matter where, is something very few could resist.  

But they are not the first to do this. There is something called “Postcrossing“, and it’s known as an online project that allows people to exchange postcards with individuals from all over the world. Plot twist, you can send letters to random people around the world. That’s real postcards, not electronic.  

What happens with language then?

Many consider English is probably the safest option. But, when you receive an address to send a postcard to, you also receive a list of languages that the recipient understands. So you can send it in any of those, and explore languages and practice your fluency. 

All these are initiatives that connect people. And in the end, that’s what Valentine’s is about. Maybe it’s letters. Maybe it’s flowers, chocolates, and cards. In France it’s also a day to visit the graves of loved ones and connect with those whom we miss. Sometimes, it even helps us connect with our history and roots, like the  “Qixi Festival” in China (also known as Chinese Valentine’s Day).  

The Qixi festival honors the story of a mortal cowherd, Niu Lang, and a fairy, Zhi Nu, who fell in love and married against the wishes of the celestial emperor. The emperor separated the couple by placing the Milky Way between them, allowing them to meet only once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month (the day it has been celebrated for at least the past 2,000 years).

Today we take a pause

On this day couples exchange gifts and express their love for one another. But it is also a time for people to express their appreciation for their loved ones and to pray for good luck and prosperity in relationships. Poems are written, rice balls are cooked, handicrafts are shown off and the mood is uplifting as ever.  

Every year, the amount of content produced, industries that grow, people that are born, is almost impossible to trace. But we take a pause today to look around and marvel at our persistence in meeting eye to eye. In connecting with those around us. In our capacity to make up stories and special dates only to make someone feel better. To share our love.  

So today, we hope you are celebrating with those you love. Maybe meeting someone new.  And if you are one of those idealistic entrepreneurs, or big companies, or small towns creating new ways to open up a conversation with someone around the globe, remember you can always count on our team of language experts to help you out. 

If you would like to learn more about this topic go to “Are hearts and I love you’s universal?”