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 😏
