Tuesday 14 February 2012

Valentine's Day - Love It or Hate It?


I Love You - Courtesy of Wendy Bell Designs

Happy Valentine's Day!
When it comes to Valentine's Day there seem to be two camps.  The first consists of hopeless romantics who look forward to this day every year and truly spoil their loved ones.  The second camp contains the cynics; those that believe that this day is ridiculous and has been milked by the greeting card industry in order to make millions on an annual basis.  In actual fact, according to Wikipedia, "Saint Valentine's Day" was originally established in 496 AD, in honour of a Christian martyr named Saint Valentine.  It wasn't until the 15th Century that the 14th February evolved into a day where people showered their loved ones with gifts in an expression of love.

So which camp do you fall into?

Personally, I'm somewhere in between the two.  I do honestly believe that Valentine's Day is somewhat over exploited by the greeting card industry, amongst others.  I believe that there is absolutely nothing wrong with being single.  In fact, many people are extremely happy without a partner and prefer not to be in a relationship.  What I don't like about Valentine's Day is the pressure it puts on those who are alone, as if highlighting this fact and thus making them feel as if this is a problem.  I also don't believe that there should only be one day in an entire year where it is deemed acceptable or appropriate to show the one that you love exactly how you feel about them.  However, the romantic in me thinks, why not show that someone special how much they mean to you?  I use it as an excuse every year to get my husband a card and write something slushy in it to let him know just how special he is to me.  I don't spend fortunes, but I do make the effort to open a nice bottle of wine and cook something he will enjoy.  The thing is, I don't believe it should only be your partner who finds out how much you care on Valentine's Day...whether you're single or not, there are other people in your life that you care about and wouldn't want to live without, so why not let them know that you care?  If nothing else, it's always a nice surprise to get a card through the post, or a nice email from someone...so go ahead, you don't have to buy into the money making side of this day, but why not let those that you care about in this crazy world know how you feel about them...