There are millions of opinions about Valentine’s Day, but generally two sides. There are those who say it’s a shameless scam spurred by sadistic establishments that purposely points out the lonely people of society, and those who (**liiKe, OMG**) love it.
Of course, those were both blatantly and hugely exaggerated, but pretty much people fall into one category or the other. My reputation says I fall into the first category of envious haters. Any secret admirers I may have had in the past were not very bold. But I really enjoyed last years’ Valentine’s Day. My high school journalism class had a card exchange in honor of the event. It was like what most people did from Kindergarten till the end of elementary school, but I was homeschooled during those years. I found my first time getting Star Wars, Spider-man, Winnie-the-Pooh, and Dora the Explorer cards from everyone in my class delightful.
In my opinion, Valentine’s Day would be a whole lot cuter if it was much more toned down. These days it’s been turned into a whole season – one of turmoil for singles who wish they weren’t, and one that can even lead to too-high expectations for couples. But how did all this hype result? Was it because of all the companies who realized they could make a huge profit of it, or because of the couples who liked the excuse to congratulate themselves?
In truth, this question cannot be fully answered. In fact, the whole Valentine’s Day holiday is shrouded in mystery. No one really knows which saint the day is in honor of, since there were at least three martyred Catholic saints whose names closely resemble Valentine. But sometime between their deaths and now, someone decided that the day was going to be about mushy cards, hearts, and the colors pink and red. A week after Christmas, I made a run to Target, and the entire place was dripping in heartsy-fartsy décor. There was not one thing in the Dollar Spot that wasn’t Valentine-related. So you could say that the evolution of Valentine’s Day was as fast and drastic as the evolution of the iPod, or Miley Cyrus’s career.
Another aspect of Valentine’s Day is how totally geared toward women it is. Most people I’ve talked to don’t seem to mind at all, and neither do I, but I’d just like to point it out. The tradition in a dating relationship is that the guy asks the girl out, is usually supposed to pay for dates, and even plans them most of the time. And while I like the gestures that show that they’re being attentive and thoughtful, I wonder if part of the real satisfaction we girls get is watching them sweat as they struggle to make everything perfect. We know it’s hard for them to even remember days like Valentine’s Day sometimes, even when everything from decorations to embarrassing themes for Sibs Weekend are oriented around them.
I wonder if singles and couples could unite to petition Hallmark and company to chill out when it come to this holiday. I think that would make everyone happy. Single people could appreciate their singleness without annoyance; secret admirers could be sweetly discrete and work up courage without pressure while the secretly admired don’t secretly get their hopes up; boyfriends could stop being so worked up that they make fools of themselves; girlfriends could feel special without making a scene; Necco could permanently discontinue Sweethearts; and everyone could exchange their favorite cartoon Valentines.
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