Hearts abound on Valentine’s Day
\u00a9 Alenaohneva\/iStock<\/p><\/div>\n

Hedgehog or Cockroach—Which Would Your Valentine\u00a0Prefer?<\/h2>\n

Valentine\u2019s Day arrives this week, so there\u2019s no time to lose in selecting the perfect gift for your special someone. In most countries, the gifts of choice are the usual items\u2014flowers or chocolates, all wrapped in Valentine\u2019s red.<\/p>\n

But it might be time to challenge the marketing hype and create your own cultural traditions. Oh I See.<\/strong> How about a cockroach or a hedgehog?<\/p>\n

Valentine’s Day can be full of surprises.
\u00a9 George Rudy\/iStock<\/p><\/div>\n

Love . . . Sealed with a Hiss<\/h4>\n

This year, one of the Valentine\u2019s Day thoughts getting top buzz (or hiss) is the \u201cName a Cockroach\u201d program from the Bronx Zoo Wildlife Conservation Society.<\/p>\n

You purchase the privilege of naming one of the zoo\u2019s Madagascar hissing cockroaches (certificate included).<\/p>\n

Nothing says love like a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach.
\u00a9 Lenkusa\/iStock<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cNothing lasts longer than a roach,\u201d says one of the Wildlife Conservation Society executives. So this gift certainly outlasts flowers or chocolates. Love, like a roach, can be everlasting.<\/p>\n

For an extra donation, you can even get a Roach Broach, roach socks, and roach chocolates (no, not chocolate-covered roaches . . . just tasty chocolate shaped like a roach. Yum).<\/p>\n

The full array of roach items (called “the works”)
Image courtesy of Wildlife Conservation Society<\/p><\/div>\n

Hedging Your Bets with a \u201cWild at Heart\u201d Gift<\/h4>\n

If a roach doesn\u2019t quite have the ring of \u201cI Love You,\u201d there\u2019s always a hedgehog. England\u2019s Surrey Wildlife Trust offers the opportunity to adopt (virtually) this prickly\u2014but adorable\u2014critter. (Otters and goats are also available.)<\/p>\n

A cute, but prickly, Valentine’s Day idea
\u00a9 iStock<\/p><\/div>\n

The hedgehog gains accolades for its ability to roll into a spiny ball. Their spines point out, their faces are hidden, and it takes a lot of coaxing for them to uncurl once they have felt threatened. What better way to say \u201cI love you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The donation for an adoption allows the Wildlife Trust to continue important conservation work.<\/p>\n

And, your special someone gets a species fact sheet, a cuddly toy, and an adoption certificate.<\/p>\n

Eiffel Tower chocolates in Paris
\u00a9 Meredith Mullins<\/p><\/div>\n

International Kitsch<\/h4>\n

Some of the more unconventional gifts around the world include the \u201cGrow a Boyfriend\u201d kit, the \u201cI Love You\u201d toast stamper, the Valentine version of Venus de Milo, and just about everything you could think of transformed into Valentine red.<\/p>\n

If you know someone who\u2019s looking for that perfect boyfriend, send a \u201cgrow your own\u201d kit. A tiny sponge boyfriend grows to 600% his size when dunked in water . . .\u00a0 and is, well, perfect. He never argues, always listens, always agrees, and doesn\u2019t snore.<\/p>\n

The perfect date\/mate: “Grow a Boyfriend”
Image courtesy of Find Me a Gift<\/p><\/div>\n

Alternatively, you can order the \u201cMagic Frog to Prince\u201d kit, where, you guessed it, the frog dunked in water turns into Prince Charming.<\/p>\n

If you want to surprise loved ones with breakfast in bed with extra flair on Valentine\u2019s Day, treat them to \u201cI \u2665 You\u201d toast with the \u201cI Love You\u201d Toast Stamper.<\/p>\n

A toast to Valentine’s Day
Image courtesy of Amazon<\/p><\/div>\n

And who wouldn\u2019t want a Venus de Milo statue in red (or two)?<\/p>\n

Venus de Milo in red (and a discount!)
Image courtesy of Boutiques de Mus\u00e9es<\/p><\/div>\n

Or a range of other gifts in red, for that matter.<\/p>\n

Paris lingerie: Ooh la la in Valentine’s Day red
\u00a9 Meredith Mullins<\/p><\/div>\n

The Rhythm of Gift Giving<\/h4>\n

Most countries celebrate Valentine\u2019s Day on February 14. However, some countries officially extend the gift giving.<\/p>\n

In Japan, the women give chocolates on February 14. Giri-choco is \u201cobligation\u201d chocolate, given to friends, bosses, and colleagues. Honmei-choco is given for \u201ctrue love.\u201d Much of the time, honmei-choco is made at home by the women to make the gift more personal.<\/p>\n

Giri-choco for friends, bosses, and colleagues
\u00a9 Bojsha65\/iStock<\/p><\/div>\n

One month later, on White Day, the men must reciprocate by giving gifts to the women who gave them chocolates.<\/p>\n

A similar rhythm exists in Korea. The women are the gift givers on February 14, with chocolates, candies, and flowers. Then, one month later, the men return the thought (with chocolates, flowers, and an extra added gift).<\/p>\n

And, for those who don\u2019t celebrate on Valentine\u2019s Day or White Day, there is a third holiday one month after White Day\u2014called Black Day.<\/p>\n

The custom for some on Black Day is to mourn being single by eating dark bowls of jajangmyeon,<\/em> black bean-paste noodles.<\/p>\n

The jajangmyeon for Black Day in Korea
\u00a9 Pius99\/iStock<\/p><\/div>\n

If that seems to be one of the sadder cultural traditions, then think hedgehog, cockroach, or \u201cGrow A Boyfriend.\u201d After all, it\u2019s a day to celebrate love in any form.<\/p>\n

Happy Valentine\u2019s Day!<\/p>\n

For more information about these special Valentine’s Day gifts, visit \u201cName a Roach\u201d<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0adopting a hedgehog.<\/a>\u00a0“Growing a boyfriend” is available at a variety of sites.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

For the “I Love You” toast stamper visit Amazon in your country, and for museum gifts in Paris, visit here.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Comment<\/a><\/i>\u00a0on this post below, or inspire insight with your own\u00a0OIC Moment\u00a0<\/em>here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":null,"protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":30171,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[99,227],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-heritage-culture","category-worldwide-mappoints"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30156"}],"version-history":[{"count":32,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30156\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30207,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30156\/revisions\/30207"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}