The origins of Valentine’s Day are as murky as the identity of many a secret admirer. It may have been named for an early Christian martyr, St. Valentine, but February 14 also coincides with the ancient Roman holiday of Lupercalia, a festival of sexual license. Whichever the case, it has evolved into a romantic occasion for exchanging cards, poems, gifts and sweets, and woe betide the spouse or lover who neglects to acknowledge it.
Valentine’s Day has, in short, become a commercial boondoggle, but for Federico Hewson, a former USC student living in LA in 2006, it was an opportunity to bring the world a deeper message by connecting many of the symbols we associate with the holiday in the service of peace. Hewson had worked as a performance artist and curator, so when he put together the Valentine’s Peace Project, its main feature was wrapping flowers in poems and giving them away, not only on Valentine’s Day, but also, for example, on UN Peace Day. 
Friends all over the world, known and unknown, have contributed to his effort. A high school girl wrote about looking for love in an airport, at a soup kitchen, in a favorite book and in her dad’s cooking. Someone in Mexico submitted a poem about faces of love on the street. Dozens of schools and community programs participated and poems were also received from Yoko Ono, Marshall Rosenberg, David Whyte and Allison Crowe.
Hewson’s ultimate goal is simple: to give us an opportunity to reflect on love in deeper ways and explore how we can connect the work of peace to expressions of love, whether that be to a partner or to the work of love in the world. As the project has grown, Hewson, who has both EU and US citizenship due to an Italian mother and British father, has moved to Europe to build the project from there, working with the extensive Dutch flower industry and the growing awareness of ethical trade.
Many symbols of love—diamonds, chocolate and flowers—are given with emotion and meaning but unbeknownst to the charmed recipient, are actually steeped in conflict. Diamonds cost human lives, flowers are grown in toxic environments, and cacao is often produced with child or slave labor. By becoming aware of the sources, we can start to create a day that truly is one of love rather than exploitation.
This Valentine’s Day, an LA coordinator will distribute poems, carnations and roses at the Hollywood Sunset Free Clinic. Contact info@valentinepeaceproject.org to share poems and roses for the event or to get your school involved.
—Abigail Lewis
