Valentine’s Day is approaching, and it’s time to remember your friends and loved ones. On Friday, February 14, Finns celebrate Valentine’s Day, which is the second-largest postcard season after Christmas.
The theme of this year’s Valentine’s Day postage stamps is the Colors of Friendship. They have been designed by Samuli Siirala, an advertisement and magazine illustrator. The colorful stamps present the shared moments, joys and memories of a friendship over the years. The Colors of Friendship stamp booklet contains six different domestic no-value indicator stamp designs.
“Friendships are a valuable resource and often continue throughout life. Friendships may have different meanings in different stages of life, but the same unifying fact remains: a desire to share the joys and sorrows of life with each other,” says Johanna Rouhe, Product Manager at Posti.
This year, Posti teamed up with Radio Nova, Iskelmä, NRJ and KISS and challenged people to send Valentine’s Day greetings to those who long for more friendship in their lives. People responded to the challenge by the deadline, and the received cards will be delivered to the Helsinki Missio charity, Rinnekoti disability services and SOS Children’s Village by Valentine’s Day.
“It’s great that you can also pass on joy to someone you might not personally know in advance. The joy of giving and surprising someone is great for both the sender and the recipient of the card. You can also come up with other ideas of how to delight someone you don’t know,” says Johanna Rouhe, encouraging us to everyday acts of kindness.
This year, the last day for sending Valentine’s Day postcards is February 10.
A real card is emotional and touching
Posti’s Valentine’s Day campaign website includes instructions for sending the card, and you can also enter a Valentine’s Day contest on the website.
“Sending a card requires a bit more effort than just clicking an icon in social media. However, even during busy everyday life, friendships should be considered as a thing that promotes the wellbeing of both parties. Great joy can be created with a small effort,” says Rouhe.
The Valentine’s Day celebrations were adopted in the Finnish calendar at the end of the 1980s. The Finnish Red Cross and Posti campaigned for the celebration of friendship in 1987.
Further information: Spring 2020 stamps
