This year’s Valentine’s Day will mark the start of married life for 1,400 Ukrainian brides and grooms.

Valentine’s Day marriages in Ukraine

While Russians have been excessively booking marriage registrations in February 2020 on dates that have only twos and zeros, Ukrainians are excited about adding another dimension to The Day of Lovers, as it’s known in Ukraine, by making it their future wedding anniversary.

In Russia, Valentine’s Day had been demoted in the last decade and announced “a foreign celebration”, with the newly set Day of Family, Love and Faithfulness introduced by the government in 2008 as a replacement. The new holiday was heavily promoted as the correct patriotic date for lovers to rejoice and celebrate their affection, but also to emphasize that it is only a valid thing if the couple is married.

(“Family” in the Russian language is also a synonym for “marriage”: For instance, “to create a family” means “to get married”.)

The celebration of Family, Love and Faithfulness is happening in Russia on 8 July, which is dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Fevronia in the Russian Orthodox Church. The pair of Orthodox saints, according to the legend, had been living in a happy marriage for years and died on the same date, the hallmark of unity of body and soul.

However, Ukrainians who during the last decade have strived to set up everything exactly the opposite way of what Russians are doing, favour 14 February and love celebrating it. Thus, the number of couples who see it as a great date to get hitched is rather high.

1,412 Ukrainian couples booked marriage ceremonies in Ukraine on 14 February 2020

• The majority of nuptials on the special date of 14 February are scheduled in Dnipro region (172), KP.ua reported.
• 149 pairs in Kiev (Kyiv) have booked a wedding on this date.

The regions with the least amount of scheduled nuptials:

• 20 couples will get hitched in Chernigov region.
• 15 weddings are scheduled in Luhansk region.
• 10 Ukrainian brides and grooms booked nuptials in Zakarpatsy region.

440 departments of marriage registrations will work on 14 February 2020, according to the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine.

However, the numbers of potential 14 February newlyweds may become much higher due to the system of express marriages in Ukraine. The system was introduced in July 2016 and it is widely popular among foreign men wanting to tie the knot with a Ukrainian bride. Of course, the majority of people using it are locals, as the number of nuptials with foreign citizens is not that high.

Where can you register express marriage in Ukraine in 2020?

Vegas-style quick marriages were first introduced in Odessa and then the practice was extended to all the large Ukrainian cities.

In 2020, 24-hour nuptials are accessible in the following cities of Ukraine:

• Kiev (Kyiv)
• Lviv
• Dnipro
• Odessa (Odesa)
• Kharkiv
• Zaporizhia
• Kherson
• Mykolaiv
• Poltava
• Chernihiv
• Cherkasy
• Khmelnytskyi
• Ivano-Frankivsk
• Kryvyi Rih
• Ternopil
• Kropyvnytskyi
• Vinnytsia
• Rivne
• Sumy
• Mariupol
• Uzhgorod
• Zhytomyr
• Bila Tserkva
• Lutsk
• Kremenchuk

You are also able to get married within 24 hours in Severodonetsk, Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, Kamianets-Podilskyi, Boryspil, Bakhmut, Chuhuiv, Khotyn, Kamenitsa (Uzhgorod region), and Stanytsia Luhanska.

The Day of All Lovers in Ukraine

St Valentine’s Day is seen as Catholic tradition in Ukraine, which has Christians practicing Orthodox Christianity, as well as Catholicism. This is the reason why Christmas in Ukraine is celebrated twice: on 25 December and 7 January, both days are now public holidays.

Ukrainians celebrate The Day of All Lovers in a similar fashion to westerners. People give each other cards, little souvenirs and plush toys, guys splurge on red roses for their girlfriends and wives.

Isn’t it a great way to save on an extra present if your wedding anniversary falls on 14 February? Would you book a wedding on this date? Comment below!

Read also:

• 5 tips for Valentine’s Day (in case you totally forgot about it)
• What is the reason that so many Ukrainian women are throwing themselves at foreign men on dating sites?
• How much money a woman needs to survive in Ukraine?
• Why do Ukrainian women seek husbands abroad? Find out the truth