The country of India wants its people to celebrate Valentine's Day a little different this year.
Instead of the traditional dinner and flowers with your lover, the Indian government is encouraging its folks to instead "hug a cow" on Valentine's Day, in order to better promote Hindu values.
According to ABC News, the Animal Welfare Board of India said Wednesday in a statement that "hugging cows will bring emotional richness and increase individual and collective happiness."
Also, devout Hindus, who worship cows as holy, say that Valentine's Day goes against traditional Indian values.
Not everyone is too keen on "Hug a Cow" day, though.
Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, a political analyst, said the message is "absolutely crazy. It defies logic.
The unfortunate part is this has now official sanction," he added. "This shows an eraser of one more line between the state and religion, which is very depressing. Now the state is doing what political and religious groups have been campaigning to do."
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