Be My Valentine

Written on February 1, 2009 – 9:28 am | by Glass Pearl |

You may have noticed that most holidays have lost their true meanings over the years.

Christmas is about the tree, gifts and meal, Easter is about the eggs and bunny, etc.

Valentine’s Day is no different. It used to be about sending gifts and cards as a sign of romantic interest towards someone you fancied or loved.

Now parents give their children or even pets cards and treats for Valentine’s Day and they bake little cakes for entire school classrooms!

Men who are married for a million years are given the cold shoulder if they don’t make some sort of gesture, even if it is the only one they make all year. Heck it even gives them a free pass to show their ‘romantic’ side once a year!

A friend actually dated someone for a few weeks around February, she had no interest in him – romantic or otherwise – just so she wouldn’t be alone on Valentine’s Day!

What have we been driven to and in the same breath what a load of nonsense!

Give Valentine’s Day back to courting/dating/thinking about courting/dating people, as was the case in centuries gone by.

Let them send cards and flowers and confectionary and let the rest get on with celebrating their wedding anniversaries and birthdays with their families – when it occurs. Bake goodies for your children’s classroom another day.

You don’t have to make Valentine’s Day about you or your family, if you are not courting/dating. Except if you’re Catholic and celebrating one of the Saint Valentines who were martyrred many centuries ago.

Not everyone celebrates Christmas, Eid, Dawali or Hanukkah – in the same way not everyone is required to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

For singles, Valentine’s Day is about you – not as advertising agencies and the media would like to make it about couples who are already in relationships.

Now is the time to send a card or flowers or chocolates to someone else (also single!!) to declare your intentions (try not to make it creepy though).

Take back Valentine’s Day and while we’re at it, bring ‘courting’ back, but that’s a story for another day.