I am tired of people complaining about Valentine’s Day being a commercial holiday invented by Hallmark to make people spend money. Not celebrating Valentine’s Day because you want to ‘stick it to the man’ or you want to prove that your loved one loves you ALL 365 days of the year is stupid.
There are only a handful of holidays that people actually celebrate by changing their daily routines and behaving differently. On the 4th of July, Americans fly the flag, have barbecues, and set off explosives. On Halloween, people dress up, find ways to scare themselves, and give/collect candy. On New Year’s Eve, people celebrate the beginning of a new year by getting festively drunk with their friends. And so on. But these “special” days make up only a tiny fraction of an otherwise completely normal year where you get up and live each day ordinarily.
Today is Valentine’s Day – it has a name and a theme and associated colors – and if you aren’t too busy being against this day, it’s a chance to break from your normal, boring routine. You don’t have to buy flowers and chocolate and jewelry. You don’t have to go on a fancy date or even have a significant other. It’s a day about love and surely there is somebody you love, be it your wife, your kid, your best friend, your mom, or even just yourself. Valentine’s Day is a chance to pay a little more attention to that love, even if you do it every other day of the year as well.
It’s your call. If you’d rather pretend today is meaningless and stupid, go for it. Personally, I like days that are supposed to be a little more significant than all of the others on the calendar. I don’t want to shortchange myself a holiday because I’m busy trying to prove that today is just as ordinary as all the others.
I’m totally with you on this. It’s so cliche to “rage against the system” and boycott Valentine’s Day. Just embrace it and use the day to love a little extra. No harm, no foul. And we can all just remind ourselves that we’re contributing to the economy AND reminding our loved ones of how we feel. I think that’s two birds with one stone…
You know what Valentine’s day is perfect for? Picking up lonely chicks in the aisles of Whole Foods after deciphering from the contents in their hand-cart (bottle of cheap wine, gossip mag(s), pint of ice cream) that they’re in dire need of some body-slappin’. Ducks in a barrel, my friends. Ducks in a barrel…
So, Hell yeah…I say more days to make the disenfranchised feel even more alienated!
Good call. The wife and I have been increasingly over Hallmark Holidays. We celebrate a parents day as opposed to separate Mother’s and Father’s days. Valentines does not require the gifts and waste. So I am on board with bucking the man. But you bring a valid point to the table. Instead of totally normalizing the day, celebrate and enjoy it for a less commercial reason. Thanks for that. One of the things that bothers my wife about ignoring the day is that there is some amount of after-gloom. Admittedly that is my fault for not making something of these days due to the desire to buck the commercial side of them.
Absolutely loved your sentiment. Very well said!