The Thing About Valentine's Day

With the recent Valentine's Day having passed, there are no doubt many who celebrated it in the conventional style. Roses, dinners, and other treats.

And of course, there are those who don't. These select bunch tend to proclaim it to be "fake", the sort who believe that "love should be celebrated 365 days a year, not just on one particular day."

And that Valentine's Day itself is "something invented by shopkeepers and florists to make more money."

Which is kind of silly. It might be true, or it might not. My point here is that it is an excuse. An excuse for you to wine and dine your loved ones, or just to spend more time with them. You're willing to give up on potential time with your loved ones because of something that might or might not be invented by other people.

Of course love should be celebrated every day of the year. A lot of things should happen a lot of the time. But here's a fact: it isn't always so. For whatever reason, things just don't work out. Is this bad? Is this good? I don't know. But I do know that the celebration of love, rightly or wrongly, does not happen on an everyday basis.

It is like the movies. We go and wacth a movie. We know it's not real, but we try to enjoy it for what it's worth. Even if it purports to tell a true story, we know that isn't the real story itself. It would have been pulled this way and that to fit the requirement of your standard two hour fix.

Don't want to help those who apparently invented it to make money? Then don't. Whoever said you have to spend money on expensive flowers and posh dinners anyway? If you can and you want to, fine. If you can't, use your imagination. Take them on picnics. Make dinner. Organise movie marathons.

And if your partner insists on expensive flowers and posh dinners, you're probably better off without them.

Valentine's Day is fixed. It's fake. It's not real.

So what?

Celebrate love...whatever the reason.

* An article written for the February issue of Siren, an internally circulated COSTA publication within Monash University Malaysia.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Agree! For those people who are attached,u kind of get the question 'oh you r not doing anythign on V-day?' if you don't plan to do anything on that day...It's just irritating.
Fikri said…
To Sania: My point is that it's a good excuse to spend time with your loved ones. And while I used examples of a romantic relationship extensively, I also meant familial and friendly love. :>

To Li: Yes, but those are merely the opinions of people who shouldn't matter to you. Don't let it get to you.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Valentine's day to me is define as a pure sadistic occasion where it is only for lovers who doesn't know the true meaning of commitment and true love.

"Valentine's Day is fixec. It's fake. It's not real" which is true!
Fikri said…
To the Unpredictable Mortal: That's a dangerous atatement to make. Yes, there are people who are not 'in love' who celebrate it. But it does not mean that everyone who does is not in love.
Just giving a piece of my mind on a bad day *growl*