Love is a universal language, expressed in many ways.
Beyond romantic gestures, signs of affection also include small interactions – a hug or a kiss – with friends and family and are bright spots in the humdrum of daily life.
Ahead of Valentine’s Day, we celebrate not just romantic love, but also kinship and friendship.
Madam Siew Kwee Chan (left), 83, excitedly greeting her old friend, Madam Soong Yee Hoi, 94, at a Chinese New Year reunion lunch at Henderson Community Club on Jan 21, 2023.

The former colleagues, who live near each other in public rental flats in Bukit Merah, are finally meeting after having been apart for three years because of Covid-19.
Though they have each other's contact numbers, they seldom talk on the phone as Madam Soong is hard of hearing.

Two women "twinning" under a single umbrella in Chinatown's Pagoda Street as they brave an afternoon shower on Dec 10, 2021.

When friends light up your life: A group celebrating Deepavali just after the stroke of midnight at a festive fair in Little India on Oct 24, 2022.

A student being comforted by her friend after they received their results for the GCE O-level examinations in Beatty Secondary School on Jan 12, 2023.

Two toddlers interacting during a Smart Babes session – a baby enrichment class – for babies 10 to 18 months old, provided by Growing Up Gifted on Aug 4, 2022.

Two teenagers sharing a seat at a void deck in Marine Terrace on Aug 23, 2022.

A couple in their own world on the train on June 4, 2022.

A couple sharing an umbrella in Clementi on Jan 24, 2023.

A couple walking around Toa Payoh HDB Hub on Jan 3, 2023.

A couple sitting on Tanjong Beach in Sentosa on Nov 23, 2022.

A couple posing for wedding photos outside the National Gallery on Feb 1, 2023.

Couples enjoying an intimate interlude at the open lawn at the Eco-Lake in Singapore Botanic Gardens on Dec 14, 2021.

A couple taking photographs at the Merlion Park on Dec 26, 2022.

A couple hugging in The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands on Nov 18, 2022.

A woman and child braving the rain together in Holland Village on Jan 5, 2023.

(From left) Ms Mandy Tan, 38, with her five-year-old daughter Jewel Ng, and her older sister, Ms Melody Tan, 49, crossing the finish line at the Great Eastern Women's Run at Singapore Sports Hub on Nov 20, 2022.

A mother feeding her son outside the Mandarin Gallery in Orchard Road on Feb 3, 2023.

Mr Desmond Chew, 36, playing with his two-year-old son Davies inside the Happy Birthday! gallery at Children's Museum Singapore on Dec 8, 2022.

Mr Vinodh Menon, 49, carrying his son, Kaiser, five, outside the Sri Thendayuthapani Temple in Tank Road during the Thaipusam festival on Feb 5, 2023. He carried the boy for over 3km in a downpour to support his friend who was a kavadi bearer.

A man sheltering his baby from the rain near Block 829 Tampines Street 81 on Jan 25, 2023. Two women trying to stay dry as they cross the road at Tampines Avenue 3 on Oct 21, 2022.

A mother and child enjoying the sunset at Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park, one of the largest urban parks in central Singapore, on Aug 14, 2022.

Megen Ng, 10, giving her eight-year-old brother Ronnie Ng a piggyback ride inside the Love.Hope exhibition at Ion Orchard Art Gallery on Nov 20, 2021. She had just attended a beginner's art class by master painter Lin Lu Zai at the charity exhibition, which was held to raise funds for children with cancer.