Tomorrow is Valentine's Day - a day fraught with love, bitterness, frustration and/or joy, depending on who you're talking to. I know people who love Valentine's Day, still handing out those little paper valentines to everyone they care about even though they're now adults. I know people who think the day is a crock, invented by capitalist card companies to generate sales during a slow time of year. I know people who dread the day, as they struggle with being single on a day dedicated to celebrating romantic love. I know people who think it's ridiculous to be expected to make some token gesture to their significant other, when they make their love known every other day of the year. And I know people to whom it is just an ordinary day.
To be completely honest, I have fallen into every one of those categories at some point in my life, so I understand each point of view. Right now, though, I enjoy celebrating the day. I don't go too crazy, celebrating it only with TC, and we tend not to spend any money in the process of that celebration, choosing instead to keep it fairly simple (though TC usually buys me a flower of some kind because he knows I love them). This year we'll be spending the day at a wedding - how perfect is that?
Part of the reason it's important to me for us to celebrate Valentine's Day in some way is that true romantic love, the kind that lasts a lifetime, is hard work. In our society, which is largely me-oriented, I think we need to make the most of every opportunity to celebrate the other - in this case, that special someone. And while it's true that making a token gesture of love one day of the year is empty if no love is shown on the other 364, if you do love someone what's wrong with making a little extra effort to show it on February 14th?
Now that I've had my 2 cents worth, what about you folks? What do you think about Valentine's Day? Love it? Hate it? Indifferent? Inquiring minds want to know :)
3 comments:
We kind of don't really do anything... but I think I might make a special treat for someone while he's at work. :)
Matthew and I have never celebrated Valentine's day. We don't have any strong feelings for or against,but we've never felt the need to celebrate it in a special way.
I'm suspicious of Valentine's day and tend to avoid it. While I'm not one to turn down candy and chocolate, it certainly seems like a fabricated "holiday" with commercial intents. And the other strike against V-Day is that no one likes being told what to feel, at any time! It's February, feel lovey-dovey. or It's December, feel jovial.
But, just to point out my hypocrisy, Lent is my favourite season, so apparently I do like, It's early spring, feel reflective and repentant.
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