Well internet, it's almost time. That one time of year when a guy who is in any form of ongoing relationship is forced to fork out some hard earned cash on chocolates, flowers and puppy themed Hallmark cards. Yep, it's Valentines Day!! (val-innie-tuin-dag for my Afrikaaner peeps)
Now before I get started on what a waste Valentines Day is, a quick mention of the history behind this nonsense. A quick read through the Wikipedia entry on the topic talks about St Valentines Day starting out as a worship party/celebration in honor of some saints named Valentinus. Apparently Valentinus of Rome was sentenced to death for illegally marrying soldiers (it was illegal for soldiers to marry at all) and preaching to Christians (also illegal before Emperor Constantine came along). At his execution he left a note signed "Your Valentine" for a girl that he helped during his stay in prison. At this point I got bored and skimmed the rest of the page which went on to mention a couple of poems and an ancient Roman festival. As to why some dude getting hauled to the gallows has caused me to have to buy a girl chocolates will remain a mystery. The Wikipedia article was sketchy at best, and cupid didn't feature.
Anyways, back to the business at hand and a few reasons why I find Valentines to be a waste. Firstly, that cupid thing is just stupid. Ever try give a girl chocolates after shooting her in the bum with an arrow? She won't want chocolates, she'll want to moer you!! Shouting surprise afterwards just adds fuel to an already raging fire. I don't recommend it.
Secondly, the whole mass marketing thing that accompanies the month and a bit long campaign gets tedious very quickly as well. I say month and a bit because as soon as January 1st and Happy New Year come off the shelf, up goes February 14th and Valentines Day. And it gets aggressive too. Sweep her off her feet with this, bowl her over with that or smother her with love this year by buying her (insert expensive stuff here). Are they trying to get you to show affection or quietly suggesting ways to kill her and make it look like an accident?
My third and final reason is a bit more on the serious side. Why is only one day important enough to warrant showing someone how much they mean to you in a fun and hopefully creative way? Why not once a week or even once a day? It doesn't have to be anything huge or ostentatious. Just a text or a note if possible to say "you're on my mind" or doing something unexpected like a surprise dinner. This goes for the married folk out there as well. The romance doesn't die when you take the vows. Do a few extra chores now and then, whisper "I love you" in her ear as you're walking past or bite your tongue and be more pleasant next time the mother-in-law swings round for an interroga... I mean a coffee.
When did we become so busy that we allowed the corporate machine to guilt us into shelling out on expensive gifts and over-priced dinners? Because we're all guilty. Too busy working, too busy playing, too busy doing everything else to be noticing the little things that matter.
I hope everyone has a great Valentines, well those of you that have to celebrate it anyways haha! I'll leave you with this quote I thought was rather fitting. Cheers!!
True love comes quietly, without banners or flashing lights. If you hear bells, get your ears checked
Erich Segal
Jeff, your number one “demanding” fan is back! Thank you for not making me wait too long after the second jolt. Hey! Who said “jolts” don’t work.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, back to “Your Valentine”. I couldn’t agree more – Thank god you stopped the spiel from Wiki; I almost lost the will to carry on reading – who gives a flying…fill in the blanks…about some Roman bygone who went to prison. It’s along the same who-gives-a-flying…when it comes to Guy Fawkes and celebrating Christ’s birthday, I am sorry if this is offensive; however, it’s not your birthday so why the need to spend money on gifts for people that you don’t really want to buy for in the first place. All a waste of money, if you ask me. But then again, no one’s asking me…
And if a chap/geek has to wait for Valentine’s Day to purchase the run of the mill gifts then is he really worth it?
By the way, I am of the fairer sex – in case you and all your other not so demanding fans hadn’t noticed – and I’ve never really appreciated flowers and such like on this day. Other days, yes! Most definitely. Because there are no reminders and it makes it that much special.
It sounds as though you may have shot a girl’s ass with an arrow – is this from experience that you do not recommend it? Now this deserves a post all on its own! I look forward to it greatly.
I couldn’t have said it better…
“When did we become so busy that we allowed the corporate machine to guilt us into shelling out on expensive gifts and over-priced dinners? Because we're all guilty. Too busy working, too busy playing, too busy doing everything else to be noticing the little things that matter.”
Best get your ears checked! The lot of you!