When this post goes up, it will only be four days before one of the "Special Days" on the planet arrives. If February alone isn't enough for you to guess, then the shades of red and pink tone and heart-shaped items decorating most shopping malls, physical or virtual, might. ❣💕
Uh-huh! It's Valentine's Day. What else? Hahaha. 😍
To be honest, this topic feels like Deja Vu. I vaguely recall writing or commenting about this topic before. Although I cannot remember when or where. That was years ago, maybe during my Tumblr era? 🤔
Anyway, what makes Valentine's Day so special, then? You probably already know the answer. It's the DAY OF LOVE. The one date when romance is supposedly in the air, as we celebrate our feelings to our "beloved people"; a phrase that, thankfully, goes beyond boyfriend/girlfriend/significant other/partner nowadays (as it should be). It is the one date of the year when lovers bask in festive and cheer over the death of a priest in Rome, Ita-- ⚰☠
Huh? That cannot be right? Right? 😨
Except it IS indeed the backstory. 😰
Or at least one of the many stories/tales behind it. 🤔
That's one of the funny things about it. Despite the cheerful and joyous occasion, February 14 WAS the death of a martyr named Saint Valentine, hence the commemoration of his name. Saint Valentine was a priest the Roman Church acknowledged, later removed, but still eventually recognized as the patron of love. 💒🧔
That said, if we go even further back in time, Valentine's Day was originally a Pagan Ritual of Fertility! 😳
I won't go into details as you can read the history yourself. But my goodness, the irony of how this particular event evolved from the Middle Ages, huh? After all, like most festivities, religious or not, now it is all about two aspects: the cultural hype and the commercialization hecticness. 🤷🏻♂️
The hype speaks about how many people suddenly emphasize the event so much, often to an exaggeration. And furthermore, the hype shows in how people react to it. For better or worse, that is.
One example. It has become a fascinating sight in my country. Religious places or centers here are either banning Valentine's Day altogether, citing it is a foreign culture, or jumping all-in all-out into the bandwagon of festivity.
Well, please don't take my word (just a naive observation 👀), but the "peculiar" ban is most likely due to Valentine's Day originating from another, non-majority religion. Hence, it instantly becomes a big no-no in their community. 😬🙅🏻♂️
What about the other groups of people who are loud and proud of the festivity? It may also be due to the religious angle. "Loving others" is the core teaching of their belief. Thus, the Day of LOVE is naturally a fitting celebration. 😌🙏
(You can already guess which religions fit those "opposing" perspectives, right? 😅)
As for the commercialization...
Need I even explain more? I'll let this artsy and expressive caricature detail it in 5 panels. 😏
Hahaha, yes, Valentine's Day NEEDS flowers, particularly roses. Also, it MUST have chocolates! The bittersweet treat that triggers joy and happiness, apparently. Because it is a day of pleasure despite its dark origin. Bring out every ornament that is Red, Pink, or a combination of both! Some people even go the distance with dinner plans at a fancy restaurant or something extravagant. Woohoo! 😍💝🤩🥂
As of this writing, the e-commerce notifications from my phone are pinging non-stop. Proving the comic completely! 😅
"Send Gifts with this discount! Special Valentine! Use this code..."
I'm not really one to complain, I guess. Roses or candle-lit dinners are not my thing. So, I'm not buying or doing those anytime soon. However, during this time of the year, chocolates are always ON SALE! And that delights my inner child and sweet tooth. I enjoy stocking the often-exclusive treats to keep year-round, either for personal consumption or snacks for guests. In fact, I still have several bars from last year sitting on the fridge, expiring later this month. Hahaha. 😋🍫
Tasty chocolate craving side, I can't help but wonder. Have we lost sight of the true meaning of Valentine's Day by this sudden spending? 😳
Sure, the event is good for business. I mean, store owners would have LOVED seeing the increase of customers rushing to meet their "loving" deadline. Cha-ching! 🤑💸
But while the profit gets a boost, the pressure on the store workers may be equally high. Right? 😟
I have a pen pal who works in retail. Somehow, I feel he's already dreading this particular week due to having to work overtime again. How is that considered a loving gesture to them? 😨🤦🏻♂️
The gag comic above also concluded with a funny irony. 😅
Somehow, Valentine's Day also becomes a deadline to form a couple. This applies across the world. For example, I only learned last week that Valentine's Day is BIG in Thailand. Because the idea of finding love is ingrained in their society. I hear it has become an implicit "life goal" passed down from one generation to the next. 😶
So, what happens to those who do/can/will not have a lover? 🤨
It turned into a desperate and distressing celebration, perhaps prompting certain communities to eventually kick off the Singles Awareness Day on February 15 (supposedly in 2001). That's cool, I guess? 😅
I'm really not fond of how it is abbreviated as S.A.D., though. Especially since in our modern times, staying single or romantically unavailable/unattached has gained massive traction and normalcy. More and more people, regardless of age or gender, are choosing singlehood for various valid reasons.
To name a few:
Specific sexual orientations, mental health stability concerns, true love is rarely feasible, fatigue due to the overt romanticization of romance, outrageous financial demands that follow, limitation of freedom is not for everyone, and so on. 😮
Are these people SAD? No, they aren't. Maybe FAR FROM THAT. Unless we're talking about the bigwigs in the government. They may be the sad ones in this equation. Not surprising, though. The stay-single movement does lead to the decline of population, causing many governments to decry and deploy all kinds of (and often, eye-rolling) methods to encourage, if not enforce, citizens to mate and eventually make babies. Yikes! But I'm not here to talk about how problematic and downright SAD such an approach can be. 🙄
I mean, on the bright side, different countries are treating Valentine's Day with lesser levels of desperation. February 14 is celebrated only as the attempt to announce or confess romantic feelings to an object of affection. It's all about the giddy fun of it all. 🤭
Japan spearheaded this world-famous tradition. You most likely already know what that is. It is depicted as a yearly trope in almost every lighthearted manga, anime, and TV drama series. Even in video games! Girls will band up to prepare handmade or purchase exclusive chocolate-themed treats for their crush. They hand those sweets over on February 14 while waiting to see if they will be reciprocated on March 14's White Day. 👀
I must admit that this tradition does make for a fun, usually funny, storyline fit for entertainment. That goes for the silly situations and shenanigans that ensue, of course. I'm not saying that love or romance is a joke. At the very least, it helps encourage us that the quest to find "the one" can be something lighthearted. It does not need to come from desperation (especially if the government somehow must act and have a say). 😌😛
Funnily enough, even THAT tradition HAS SHIFTED nowadays. Gone are the chocolate made for specific crush(es). MaiChoco has taken over! And as a short-term investment, too! Wait, huh? Hmmmm. The commercialization angle remains, I guess. Just aimed at a different direction. Hahaha. 😅
From a broader point of view, that's another thing that makes Valentine's Day funny, I suppose. Out of the blue, people want and need to declare or showcase their love. In this single day, as in a date that falls only once every 365 (or 366, you know the drill) days in a year. It begs the question:
Why not on other days? 😐
Do people forget about love when it is not Valentine's Day? 🤔😨
That pen pal I mentioned above has his own perspective about these "special days" and the whole gifting situation that follows. He calls it the Random Gift Giving Day. And I must admit, I was already on board or agreed with him even before he told me. 🤭😁👍🏻
This is what he wrote (shared with his full approval):
"Giving a gift, say, on Christmas can mean, 'I really care about you, and this is a special day, so I want you to have this,'
But it can also mean, 'I feel obligated to give something to you, so here it is.'
But a gift completely randomly says to me, 'I really care about you, and I've been thinking about you lately, and I want you to have this because I think you'll enjoy it.'"
That's an amazing point of view! Would you agree? 😄👍🏻
In a sense, to him, a day to express care, love, or romantic feelings is a day that falls not just annually or once a year. But it is something we should be doing ANY DAY of the year. After all, if you DO care or love someone, whether they are your soulmate, family, friends, or yourself, that is a celebration that should happen at any given moment. 🥰🎁☺💝
Put two and two together, and it is safe to say that every day should be Valentine's Day. We don't have to wait until the commemoration of a martyr's death. Right? Besides, that means we can rightfully honor Saint Valentine better, considering he served as a patron of love throughout the days when he LIVED, not just at his death. 🙏🏻❤
Valentine's Day may mean differently to people. To each their own.
But in my honest opinion, it should not be a day to celebrate love. Instead, it needs to be a day that reminds us how showcasing love should not be celebrated only once a year. Rather, it is something we must strive to do every single day; even through the simplest gestures. 😉❣
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