LONDON, Feb 14: Love was in the air on Saint Valentine’s Day, but with a much lower price tag this year as the global economic crisis hit Cupid in the pocket.

Lovers around the world marked Saturday’s annual celebration of romance in time-honoured tradition. But while heart strings were tugged, many did all they could to avoid tugging too hard on purse strings.

In London, lovers were bombarded with handy tips on getting away with love on the cheap.

Captain Crunch of The Sun, Britain’s biggest-selling daily newspaper, gave readers “top tips for turning today into Value-tine’s Day”. They included downloading a free Valentine’s card from the internet, and information on which supermarkets are the best for bagging a cheap bunch of roses, cut-price meal deals and bargain perfumes.

“Poundland has a huge range of risque Valentine’s gifts including an edible G-string, furry handcuffs and a mask and whip set,” readers were told.

“Don’t be ashamed to be one of the stay-at-home majority.” Meanwhile, in a bid to “turn up the romance and beat the credit crunch”, the Energy Saving Trust urged people to bypass expensive gifts and just get straight under the covers instead for some no-nonsense romping.

“This Valentine’s Day is all about getting back to basics with some old-fashioned romance and saving money and energy at the same time,” it said.

Couples were urged to turn off the lights and use candles instead.

The Church of England put the emphasis on spending time rather than money with a new romantic prayer.

“Loving God, on this Valentine’s Day, we might give gifts like flowers or cards, or look forward to the romance of a meal out, but the joy of sharing in these things is our time together,” the prayer said.

In Paris, the city of love, thinkers pondered on what the financial downturn means for romance.

Psychiatrist Samuel Lepastier told Le Parisien newspaper that this year was “more about the chance to celebrate rather than the meaning of Saint Valentine’s Day.

“In times of crisis, it’s a brief moment in which people can escape from the gloom. Any chance to do so is good,” he said.

In South Africa, the former penal colony where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 17 years held an annual mass Valentine’s Day wedding ceremony.

Organisers said 16 couples from around the world tied the knot in the historic Robben Island chapel.—AFP