Valentine's Day

[davidn]

I always hated Valentine's Day when I was single. I felt it a smug celebration of coupledom, which was something that a few years ago I never expected to be part of. Now that at least one woman in the world has seen my obvious greatness and has decided to live with me, my opinion of the day has changed surprisingly little. I'm not saying that I don't enjoy it - it's a great reason to give chocolates, receive chocolates, eat chocolates, and go out for a nice meal (if room). The trouble is that I feel that much like everything else, the meaning of the day has been lost in commercialism.

Rather than a day for people who are already together and vastly increasing the profits of Hallmark, I think that Valentine's Day is meant to be about being able to express love rather than continue what's already there. Apparently Chaucer pretty much invented the tradition when he wrote "on Seynt Valentynes day, Whan every foul cometh there to chese his make" (presumably having had one too many that evening).

My point is to urge everyone reading this and planning to be miserable tomorrow to not waste your time like I did. Write something out that's nice but not excessively cheesy, put it in the object of your desire's post slot or under their door, and make someone feel good about themselves. Yes, I'm talking to you. Stop reading now and go and do it. You might be glad you did.

Comments

[kibet.livejournal.com]

Single people do whinge a lot about couples on valentines day. IT is meant to be for single people secretly telling other people that they are liked anonymously, although single people are as bad as couples with this holiday and normally tell people how they feel and signing it rather than being anonymous.

They should call it national love day or something to mark how it has changed, and christmas should be national spending time with loved ones day since the majority of people do not celebrate the religious/pagan aspect of the day anymore.

[plette.livejournal.com]

This is why Chris and I make absolutely no recognition of Valentine's Day...it's our own little protest of the farce it has become. We don't need companies telling us on which day we should be most romantic. We show our love all the time, and I don't like this idea that there's one day when you should be extra nice to your partner - you should always be, and if you need to be pressured into doing so by commercials, you've got a problem. I also don't like the common Valentine idea that love = spending lots of money.

[davidn]

I am of this opinion entirely. Whitney, however, is not, and when one member of a partnership doesn't recognise the day when the other does it is tantamount to suicide.

[raphx.livejournal.com]

I love Paulette every day of the year, and will show it how and when I want, hence my unwillingness to indulge in the whims of commerce and public feeling on this particular day.

I always recommend sane couples like us to go out of their way to put people off/take them aback/etc when they ask us about Valentine's Day, by saying "nothing" when asked "what did you do for/give your partner?", followed by "because I don't love him/her" when asked why.

[raphx.livejournal.com]

I plan on being dead before then.

[davidn]

I did - looking back at my embarrassing first few months of LJ entries, I think I could be best described as a detestable misery-guts.