Women are difficult to please and choosing the right gift for them on a romantic yet sensitive occasion like Valentine’s Day can be tricky. Most men end up buying gifts which although make a big hole in their pockets, seldom touch the lady’s heart. A good present need not be expensive; it must be romantic and thoughtful. Following are a few suggestions to end the dilemma you are facing right now as Valentine’s Day is just round the corner.

The most romantic and best gift by far is a bouquet of long stemmed red roses along with a box of her favorite chocolates. These two gift items express your feelings more eloquently than a thousand sweet words; although a hand written card from you will add a personal touch.

Jewelry items also make an appropriate gift. Heart shaped rings and pendants are especially designed for Valentine’s Day. A diamond ring is a good gift but today’s woman prefers something new, something more personalized like her birthstone set in a ring. Most birthstones are semiprecious stones and are less expensive, to add glamour, you can get a ring or a pendant with her birthstone set in a cluster of diamonds. A ring is a sign of commitment and is sure to make her happy. For the more practical women, you can choose a beautiful wrist watch from a range of designer wrist watches.

Perfume is a sensual and tasteful gift your wife/girlfriend will like. You can also get her a make up kit especially the one endorsed by her favorite celebrity.

Crystal show pieces and candles also make a nice gift. Best thing you can do is to take her out to a romantic candle light dinner. But make a reservation before hand to avoid disappointment.

A gift selected with her preferences in mind not only portrays your love but also shows that you understand her as well.

If he is really into electronic gadgets then iPhone, cell phones, digital cameras make the right gift.
For the well groomed man you can choose from hand painted silk ties, colognes, after shaves, cuff links, sun glasses and watches. Laptop bags, leather belts and wallets also make appropriate gifts.

The best gift however remains a memorable day. Men like women also need to be told how much they are loved and how meaningless life can be without them. They too need emotional security. Seize the opportunity this Valentine’s Day to express your feelings. Begin the day with a special breakfast of his liking, write a romantic poem for him; if you cannot write one, copy one, he will not sue you for plagiarism. Little gestures of love do more wonders than gift worth hundreds of dollars. Convey the message that he is the best thing that could happen to you (it is okay to tell a lie this day). All in all make him feel loved and wanted. Everybody craves for love and Valentine’s Day is an ideal occasion to liberally shower it on your spouse/partner.

It is a kind of a religious festival in which thousands of men dressed to the minimum wrestle with each other in the freezing temperature for a pair of tiny sacred sticks called “Shingi”.

The local men gather in groups in garages. The groups of men consume large amount of Saki (Japanese wine) and jump up and down to keep themselves warm chanting “washoi”. They then jog around the neighborhood and are doused with ice cold water which is supposed to purify them. Chanting washoi, they proceed towards the main temple. When all of them gather at the shrine, two pieces of Shingi wood are dropped from the temple and men push, shove and trample each other to get to these Shingi. It is believed that anyone who catches the Shingi will be favored by the lady luck for the rest of the year. Another highlight of this festival is the food stalls and the taiko drumming.

This festival is mostly restricted to adult males; but separate events for young men and very rarely for women is also held.

The orange throwing festival takes place in Ivrea, a town in North Italy. The origins of the festival are unclear but it is said that it symbolizes the revolt against the tyrannous Count Ranieri of Biandrate. Among his many vices was lust for young women and he allegedly deflowered the young brides on their wedding night. Ones young bride Violetta however decided that the Count had had enough and when taken to his castle after her wedding, cut his head off with a dagger she had hidden in her dress. She then displayed the head to the crowd outside the castle who then attacked and burned the castle.

The orange throwing festival is celebrated to commemorate the revolution brought about by the courageous Violetta. It is also said that in the middle 1800s, the girls used to throw oranges from the balconies at young men participating in annual carriage parade to get their attention. The young men responded by throwing oranges back at them. After World War-2, the orange throwing festival became an official celebration.

Every year three thousands participants are divided into nine teams to celebrate the orange throwing festival. The teams on foot are the revolutionaries and those on carriages symbolize the Count’s guards. The commencement of the festival is signaled by holding a child in the air. Oranges are thrown at each other with considerable force and can actually hit one hard as during the cold February days the oranges become as tough as a ball.

Now with various modes of transportation and with wide media coverage, the festival has gained popularity and draws huge crowds every year.

The festival takes place on the 15th day of the Chinese New Year which is somewhere in late February. Thousands of lanterns made out of bamboo and rice paper are lit and released in the sky at dusk. The lanterns are tastefully decorated with colorful pictures and inscribed with the wishes for prosperous New Year. These lanterns are the messengers which carry the people’s hopes and aspirations to the skies. The sight is truly amazing and lingers in your mind for a long time to come.

The two occasions on which the sun rays align with these magnificent statues to create the magical moment are Ramses accession to the throne (22nd February) and his birthday (22nd October).

The temple becomes crowded with tourists both local and foreign who gather before Dawn to watch this spectacular event which is worth waiting for. Music, dancing and food follows this spellbinding event but is no match for the mesmerizing scene witnessed inside the temple.

The construction of the Aswan Dam threatened the existence of the temple so the temple was dismantled and shifted 60 meters above its height and then put to gather again in the same relation with itself and the sun. This has caused the phenomenon to occur a day after it was actually planned.

The Abu Simbel festival celebrates human ingenuity and nature.

Valentine’s Day falls on the 14th of February, it is a day associated with love. It gives people an opportunity to express their feelings and to let the special person in their life know how much he or she is loved.

Among the various stories which circulate regarding its origin, the most popular one is about a priest named Valentine who lived during the reign of the Roman Emperor Claudius II. The Emperor was of the opinion that married men did not make good soldiers so he ordered all the soldiers in his army to remain single. The good priest Valentine however did not agree with the Emperor and performed secret marriages of the soldiers. He was discovered and thrown in the prison by the Emperor. On the eve of his execution, he supposedly wrote the first valentine to his beloved (the jailer’s daughter whom he had befriended while in jail); the letter read”from your valentine”.

From that day onwards people sharing an intimate relationship present each other flowers, chocolates and valentine greeting cards to express their love. Till the 20th century, it was popular among the westerners only but now it is widely celebrated by lovers all over the world.

Thailand a land rich in culture, colors and exotic festivals has some amazing ideas about celebrations. The Thais show there reverence to everything which is useful to them. In Central Thailand, they thank the monkeys in the Lopburi region by throwing a lavish feast for them. In the northeast province of Surin, the elephants are honored annually in the Surin Elephant Roundup.

This festival commenced in 1960 and has been celebrated every year on the third weekend of November. The people of Surin are quite famous for their knack of capturing and taming elephants. Throughout the province these gentle beasts can be seen working side by side with the humans.

In this unique festival watched by thousands of locals and foreign tourists the elephants display their skills and strength. There are soccer matches, elephant races, a tug of war between the elephants and 70 best muscled men of the Royal Thai Army and other activities showing the intelligence, agility and grace of this wonderful animal. The highlight of the festival is the mock battle scene of yesteryears re-enacted for public enjoyment.

The Surin Elephant Round up is much more than a fascinating public display of the elephant’s capabilities; it is a unique and a beautiful bond shared by a man and a beast.

The Sangha Day is also known as the Magha Puja Day and is the second most important event of the Buddhist calendar. The Sangha Day is celebrated to commemorate the unplanned gathering of around 1250 monks on a full moon night in Veluvana Vihara. Here the Buddha delivered a sermon in which he outlined a code of conduct for the monks.

Although widely believed that Sangha Day is mostly meant for monks and nuns, the Buddhist people all over the world celebrate it to reaffirm their obligations towards Buddhist beliefs and practices. The festival is given more importance in the west than in the east. It is celebrated on the full moon in November. The festivities include exchanging of gifts, lighting oil lamps, chanting, and meditations. Religious discussions and talks from senior citizens are also a feature of this festival. All of these are ways to reconfirm their Buddhist faith which is the essence of the festival.

Ottery St. Mary is a unique carnival in which barrels coated with coal tar are burned and carried up and down the streets. What started this tradition and why; nobody knows for sure. All that is known is that the centuries old tradition either started as a way of warning the approach of Spanish Ships, or to kill the rats when the black death plague had enveloped the country, or maybe to fumigate the cottages. Another popular reason could be that the burning of tar barrels warded off the evil spirits.

Whatever the reason be, it is a very interesting and somewhat risky festival. Originally the torched barrels were rolled down but to add excitement to the event, they are now carried on the backs. Not every one is allowed to carry a barrel; in fact some families are Barrel Rollers for generations. The barrels are lit outside a public house. It takes place on the 5th of November which incidentally is also the Guy Fawkes Day.

A total of 17 burning barrels are carried throughout the day. The sizes of the barrels vary from small for boys to medium for women and youth and the big boys get to carry the big barrels which can be as heavy as 30 kg. The first barrel is lit at 4 o clock outside a public house and then carried through the streets. The process continues amidst cheering and applauding of the people until the last barrel is lit as the clock strikes midnight.

The event ends with a spectacular bonfire. The bonfire is an important part of the festival. Three weeks prior to the festival material is collected from the community. Just a week preceding the festival the bonfire is completed with a height of 35 feet and width of 50 feet. On the festival the Guy is placed at the top of the bonfire. In the evening the base of the bonfire is set ablaze and a manifestation of flame is viewed and enjoyed by all.