Valentines Day Feb. 14, 2024

Valentines Day

Love is in the air as Valentine"s Day arrives! This holiday is often associated with various romantic symbols, such as Cupid or Romeo and Juliet, the famous star-crossed lovers of William Shakespeare. Symbols of love can also be found in nature, such as red-crowned cranes, seen today in the reed marshes and frozen lakes of Hokkaido Island, Japan. These graceful birds engage in captivating mating dances to strengthen their lifelong bond—and symbolise good fortune, longevity and fidelity in Japanese culture. These gentle creatures even inspired a traditional paper craft, the origami crane; according to legend, folding a thousand cranes can grant wishes.

© Steve Bloom Images/Alamy

palette

Today in History

Love is in the snow
Feb. 14, 2025Happy Valentines Day!
Feb. 14, 2026Happy Valentines Day!

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Masterpiece of acoustic science
Zebras enjoying their day
Sep. 28, 2025Town of Pienza in Tuscany, Italy
Dec. 29, 2023Oud-West neighbourhood, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Happy New Year’s from down under
Sep. 17, 2025A young bull moose, Denali National Park, Alaska, United States
Celebrating the tropics
May 27, 2026World Otter Day
Racing through the five boroughs
Giants of the Southern Ocean
Festive foliage in the garden
Apr. 1, 2025National Frog Month
Jun 12, 2026European bee-eater, Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park, Cádiz, Spain
Jul. 13, 2024International Rock Day
Dec. 15, 2023SantaPark, Lapland, Finland
The other great barrier reef
Feb. 2, 2026Groundhog Day
Mar. 19, 2024Spring equinox
Jewel of the Adriatic
May 16, 2026Smith Rock State Park, Oregon, United States
Where history comes alive
A rainbow that’s worth the rainfall
Jun. 15, 2024International Surfing Day
Aug. 21, 2024Nazca boobies, Wolf Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
Bridging the gap two ways
Blue as far as the eye can see
Mar. 13, 2025Holi celebration in Jaipur, India
Mar. 20, 2026Spring equinox
Keyholes to the kingdom
May 25, 2026Hawa Mahal, Jaipur, Rajasthan