Thursday 18 February 2021

I Love You ❤

Valentine's Day in Israel is not the same kind of celebration as it is in other places in the world, though it has gained popularity in recent years. In Israel there is another day, called Tu B'Av, that celebrates love. The holiday takes place in the summer months, this year on the 23rd July.
According to the Mishna (the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions known as the Oral Torah), Tu B'Av was a joyous holiday in the days of the Temple in Jerusalem, marking the beginning of the grape harvest. Unmarried girls dressed in white garments and went out to dance in the vineyards. In modern times it is celebrated as a holiday of love and is said to be a great day for weddings, commitment ceremonies or proposing.
Despite the fact that Israelis don't commemorate Valentine's Day, Mister Handmade in Israel and I both grew up in the UK and we enjoy keeping some British traditions. We exchanged Valentine's cards and  this week I made pancakes for Shrove Tuesday as well!
Ever since I created this papercut for his 50th birthday, Mister Handmade in Israel has been a big fan of that style of art. For Valentine's Day I made him this papercut card with a heart and the message 'I Love You' on it. I cut the card out of white stock and added a red paper inlay.
The shops here are not usually full of Valentine's Day goodies and cards as I remember they were in the UK and anyway they are all still closed, but Mister Handmade in Israel did send me these gorgeous tulips and I received this wonderful package of English chocolates too! I mentioned in a recent post that our supply of English chocolate had long dried up, but some food shops here seem to have cottoned on to the fact that we British immigrants want a taste of the homeland. I was delighted to receive these Flakes, Twirl Bites, a Galaxy Bar and a Cadbury Creme Egg! Mister Handmade in Israel got a giant bag of Maltesers Teasers.
Valentine's Day or Tu B'Av, it is never a bad a idea to bring flowers and chocolate to your loved one 😏

16 comments:

Michele Morin said...

Fun to have candy from your childhood!
Beautiful card!

Tamar SB said...

What a great card! Glad you two had a special day!

Carol @Comfort Spring Station said...

Your card is beautiful and so are the tulips

Joanne said...

That card is beautiful and I love your flowers.

VeggieMummy said...

Gorgeous card and who could resist that bag of chocolatey goodness?! xx

Jo (A Rose Tinted World) said...

Gorgeous card! I am not sure that I would have the patience for paper cutting! #pocolo

Abby @ That’s Life For Ya said...

This is a beautiful card!

A Bit of the Blarney said...

They are delightful! Happy weekend to you!

Jayne said...

What beautiful Valentine's Day surprises! Glad you had a lovely day. Enjoy your weekend matey. xx

italiafinlandia said...

How lovely!

Chickenruby said...

Happy Valentine's Day. Lovely to hear what is and isn't celebrated in other countries.

Thank you for linking with #pocolo and hope to see you back next week

riitta k said...

How lovely that you gave each other Valentine’s Day gifts! Pretty card & gorgeous flowers, not to mention the chocolate!

Lalka Crochetka said...

beautiful and perfect card! favourite chocolates makes this day even more special :)

junie-jesh said...

Have heard about Tu B'av - sounds romantic. Do you know in the USA, Valentine's Day (used to be when kids went to class every day) is just as much celebrated by the kids - writing each other a Valentine's card, with candy in the envelope, as for adults, who give each other flowers and/or chocolates to family, friends, and even acquaintances. So it's not only about romantic love, but also about friendship.
Thank you for sending All Seasons your Valentine's card, Jesh
PS Thank you for your kind comment about the storm

Jeanie said...

It sounds like a perfect Valentine's Day. I really love the card! We're longing for tulips here. I hoped to find some in the store on the weekend, but no such luck. Yours are so pretty!

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

So sweet! And I enjoyed learning about the Israeli Holiday. How lucky for you that you now have two days to celebrate your love for each other! I’m way late reading this (or else way early, depending which holiday))...but either way it is never the wrong time fir love (or chocolate )!