Feb 13, 2007

Why Valentine's Day Sucks

So, as I sat at my desk at work today, surfing the internet for the latest news on...whatever...I kept getting bombarded with advertisements, claiming that it's not too late to buy flowers and diamonds and chocolates and...well, you name it. At first, it just got me annoyed. Then, it got me a little bit disgruntled.

Why do we have to celebrate this holiday? I mean, really. No one is really sure why we celebrate it. Some believe that it's a holiday to honor the death of a guy that no one is really quite sure WHY he is considered a Saint. Others contend that it is a holiday dating back to ancient Rome to celebrate the birthday of the goddess Juno.

Why do we have to set one day aside to be nice and loving to each other? Do you really need a box of chocolates to prove how much you love someone? Or flowers for that matter? Can't you find another way to express yourself that doesn't involve Hallmark?

The sad thing about this, is that I am a romantic at heart. Just ask my boyfriend, or my roommate, or anyone that has ever talked to me for more than five minutes. And for all of the ranting and raving that I did in the previous paragraphs, I did send him a Valentine's Day care package. However, he is at sea right now, and he won't get it until long after the holiday is past. But, I guess the thought was there.

Either way, I'm pretty sure that I'm going to try to pretend that tomorrow is just another day. I won't go out of my way to acknowledge it to other people, but I will be gracious enough to accept well wishes.

And I wouldn't mind some flowers...

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I agree- one da show your love!? What the hell is that crap. In either case, commercial holidays (with the exception of X-mas) get my undies in a knot... and not in a good way. Hang in there Em. I'd send you fowers if we weren't in a snow storm :-)
T

Anonymous said...

Regardless of the inspiriation for the mythology behind Saint Valentine (the roman priest who defied Claudius being my favourite), it's really pretty cheap if you think about it.

It's no more valuable than any other self-evident truth that spawned myth, then religion, then social extension. Humans can be embarrassingly stupid... We identify what we already want and think and then rationalize a way to make it fit into our chosen "greater scheme". From the Egyptian pyramids to the Christmas Tree to Macarthyism... we've patroned some stupid ideas in our time.

Our Mama's said it best: You gotta be able to make yourself happy before you make anyone else happy. Affections from others are self-evident... what's genuine will identify itself and a single knowing, loving glance from a connected soul means more than a mountain of candied calories from someone we might wave to on the proverbial highway of life.

Don't sweat flowers... for they are sadly a contrivance. Savour the real stuff... morning-after coffee talk and hand-holding in the park. When we're crapping in bags in a convalescent home and forgetting the names of our grandkids, that's the stuff we'll remember.