Valentine's Day 2018: 4 Quirky Traditions From College Campuses
Valentine's Day is here. It is a celebration of love, and while for India it is a relatively new festival, countries around the world have been celebrating Valentine 's Day for a long time. Consequently, several communities have developed and cherished Valentine's Day traditions. These communities include college communities and campuses, where students have adopted some tradition and have been celebrating the day for years. Here we bring to you Valentine's Day traditions from four different college campuses.
1. Simmons College: Simmons college is an all women's college in Boston, USA. Valentine's Day celebration at Simmons is not just about celebrating romantic love but also about celebration of platonic love between friends and appreciation for favorite professors. The college also holds an annual soiree around Valentine's Day at iconic venues. Simmons students dress up and invite dates for the event.
2. Swarthmore College: One of the most endearing traditions followed at Swarthmore college, Pennsylvania, USA is that which involves it's all-male a-cappella group. Every year, Sixteen Feet, the only all-male a-cappella group, ventures all around campus and delivers serenades to special someones. While students can purchase serenades in the form a romantic love ballad for their sweethearts, there are also options for those who are looking to break up.
Another tradition at Swarthmore involves people dressing up their roommates in crazy costumes and setting them up on a blind date. Students find their dates in Sharples Dining Hall by searching for the other half of their costume. Costumes range from the traditional Romeo and Juliet to the creative dog and fire hydrant.
3. Louisiana State University: At Louisiana State University, couples gather at the base of the Memorial Tower and wait for the stroke of midnight. Classic love songs such as "The Way You Look Tonight" and "Love Me Tender" are played from the bell tower as couples seal their love with a kiss at the stroke of midnight. This is the only day when the clock strikes after 10 pm.
4. Hindu College: Back home, Hindu College (Delhi University) has one of the quirkiest traditions. On the day of Valentine's Day, boarders in college hostel gather around the oldest tree in the college campus. The tree is also called 'Virgin Tree' Every year student select a Bollywood actress or model as 'Damdami Mata'. The tree is decorated with balloons and students perform aarti for Damadami Mata. It is believed that praying to Damdami Mata will help them find a partner in next six months and end their virginity in the coming year. This year, Jacqueline Fernandez has been selected by common consensus as the Damdami Mata. Last year, the students had selected
Disha Patani as Damdami Mata.