With Valentines Day approaching fast and creating not only high expectations from dames but a slew of confounded and stressed chaps everywhere, it’s no wonder I sit back, take a drag from my cigarette and disappointingly shake my head.
Everywhere you look, pink and red hearts adorn businesses; toothy saleswomen shove bottles of too-expensive perfume bottles in passerby’s faces and corner stores tout signs that say your sweetheart deserves a teddy bear, a box of chocolates and a dozen roses.
To refer to the 80’s teenager adage: Gag me with a spoon.
I like to think that Valentine’s Day should represent way more than a few last second and thoughtless gifts. In fact, it does mean a whole lot more. With a world so ineffably enamored with capitalism, it’s no wonder that American’s spend a ridiculous $2,466,800,000 annually on candy alone.
Valentine’s Day historically, was not established as a romantic holiday. In fact the holiday, if we should call it that, originates from much more macabre beginnings, stemming from a stubborn, old Christian priest who simply would not convert to Roman Paganism and was therefore executed and as a by-product, martyred.
As far as what I believe although I am clearly not Christian in any form, is that the point of Valentine’s Day is to stay true to whom you love. As with poor Saint Valentine, his unwavering love for the big G in the sky, well…he died for him and held his passion so steadfastly that no threat of death could change his mind.
Let’s remember this martyr for the passion he held in his soul. That love is much more than confectionery and flowers. Valentine’s Day represents a day where we take some time away from our busy American lives and spend some extra time with the one’s we deeply love. Whether it would be our children, our lovers or husbands, they deserve that extra attention that might be lost in day-to-day stuff.
As for me, I’d much rather enjoy going out and making memories with someone special to me. Someone that I love and I would hope loves me back, whether it’s a friend or something much more than that. Leave the chocolates and teddy bears at the door; let’s go have an adventure instead.
Related articles
- A Valentine Story (notesfromtheblogusfear.wordpress.com)
- The only way to celebrate Valentine’s Day in 2012 (greetingcarduniverse.com)