Others, including yours truly, sort of like the luxury of language and often need a little help to go with the gazing. 

They may very well, just to be clear, at some point tell their counterpart: Ik zie u graag, which means literally: I like seeing you. Or, in the wider sense of the phrase, I like you. Or, in an even wider sense, I love you. 

The phrase is manifestly Flemish and not to be used in the Netherlands, where Ik vind je leuk, I like you, or Ik hou van jou, I love you, are used. These are used in Flanders, too, mind you, but Ik zie u graag is much more fashionable.

So now you know the meaning of that anonymous postcard you received in your mailbox on Valentijnsdag, Valentine’s Day.

Yes, the American holiday has managed to infiltrate Flemish society, too. It gained a foothold in the mid-1990s and has been growing in importance ever since. Today, it’s like an unmissable snack in between the meals of New Year and Easter.

Shops around the country hope to get the most out of the highly commercialised February holiday, decorating their windows with red hearts and roses. Even the post office jumped on the love boat once, issuing special Valentine stamps.

Lovers like to do something special, like op restaurant gaan, go to a restaurant, or naar de film gaan, go to the movies. They don’t seem to understand, however, that Valentine’s Day is the worst day of the year to do anything of the sort, as everybody in town has the same idea. I, personally, am planning to stay in and een maaltijd koken, cook dinner. Maybe light an extra candle. 

They give each other kusjes, little kisses, and call each other sweet names, such as schatteke, literally meaning “small treasure”, but actually meaning something like “sweetie”.

Maar, het is niet allemaal rozengeur en maneschijn. But it’s not all (the smell of) roses and moonshine. Valentine’s Day has its fair share of opponents, more so than any other holiday, it seems. They are annoyed by the commercial aspect of the day, which they say was invented by shopkeepers with the sole objective of tricking people into buying stuff.

I can understand those people. There are many things I don’t like about Valentine’s Day. I think it is forced and kitschy, mostly. But right now, nothing is really bothering me.

Because Monica, ik zie u graag.