So it's the day after the ever so wonderful atrocity called Valentine's Day. Thankfully I have the perfect excuse to be removed from "all that" but still keep tabs on my friends via Facebook for their V-Day shenanigans- some good, some bad. The prevailing thought though is pure hatred for this "fake holiday" that was "created by Hallmark" and is way too commercialized. Well, let's see what the all-knowing (and ever so accurate) Wikipedia has to say on the matter:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine%27s_Day
"The day first became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. By the 15th century, it had evolved into an occasion in which lovers expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as "valentines")."
Wow, I didn't know Hallmark was that old...
"Valentines were made with real lace and ribbons, with paper lace introduced in the mid-19th century.[36] The reinvention of Saint Valentine's Day in the 1840s has been traced by Leigh Eric Schmidt.[37] As a writer in Graham's American Monthly observed in 1849, "Saint Valentine's Day... is becoming, nay it has become, a national holyday."[38] In the United States, the first mass-produced valentines of embossed paper lace were produced and sold shortly after 1847 by Esther Howland (1828–1904) of Worcester, Massachusetts.[39][40]"
So you see, kids- love it or hate it, V-Day's been around for a very long time and probably isn't going to be going anywhere anytime soon. I get it, the commercialism sucks (the same reason I absolutely hate Christmas) and the "pressure" to just "do something" has turned this harmless day into a nightmare for everyone- couples, singles, love-buddies, the kinda-sorta-dating-but-don't-want-to-make-anything-official-but-we-still-hang-out-and-have-sleepovers people. I know I'm a day late and my two cents don't really mean much, but let's be real here for a second:
Valentine's Day shouldn't be a test of your love for each other or even a measuring device for how much you may care about the other person. This one day a year is meant to be a celebration of the people you love and a reminder to show that love EVERY day. If you want to buy into the stereotypical flowers, chocolates, restaurant reservations- knock yourself out. But one thing I would urge anyone to do, regardless of your "official" status (dating, married, just friends, whatever), please take the time to get over yourself and show your friends and loved ones that you care. Pick up the phone, sing a song, write a letter, or hell, go surprise them at work with a hug and a rented DVD and massive cuddle-time plans.
Now, time to go practice what I preach....
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