V is Very Very, Extraordinary...

                So yet again I am a bit late, but I want to take a moment and talk to you all about Valentine’s Day. I mentioned it in the previous post about February and therefore wasn’t going to write another post about it. But I have been looking at cute love quotes all week and feel the need to write about the holiday. First, let me explain why I have been looking at quotes. At my job, I maintain the social media. This is primarily just Facebook and Twitter and is not all that in depth. It is being run on a trial basis this year to see how well it works, so there is not much for me to do or say. But, it being a holiday, we ran a special on Thursday night for couples. So, in order to promote it, I tweeted about it each day and used a cute quote to make the tweets festive. Thus I have been looking up love quotes all week. Also, being me, I have a thing for quotes. Since high school I have kept a little book where I write down all the quotes I happen upon that I like, for whatever reason. I was just transcribing some from a site I found and I felt the need to write a post to you guys about Valentine’s Day.

                For the past two years, my boyfriend and I have both worked on Valentine’s Day. In fact, each year I’ve volunteered to stay late. I am a hopeless romantic, but to be honest I don’t look at Valentine’s Day like most people do. I have heard people talking about gifts, and dates, and if you pay attention to commercials the ads are loaded with Valentine’s Day gimmicks. Jewelry stores probably do their best business around this time. And the amount of people that propose on the 14^th must be astronomical. Personally, I don’t get it. I think we have gotten way off track as to what this holiday means.  Valentine’s Day is what many people refer to as a Hallmark Holiday. This is because the card and candy companies run the show. It is all about the cards, candies, flowers, and jewelry. Other people treat it as a gift giving day. On my Facebook news feed, people showed pictures of gifts that could have been given for Christmas or a birthday. Now to me, this is ridiculous. Valentine’s Day should just be about love. Perhaps about simply being with the one you love. Maybe a flower or a card should be given but not extravagant plans and gifts. When I woke up the following morning, there was a heart made out of little candies on my counter. It was a gesture so simple and so sweet; I started my day with the biggest smile. Something like that is perfect. Don’t take this the wrong way; I love flowers and chocolates like the next girl. I just don’t expect any of that stuff, or even need it.

                I know I mentioned it in the February post too, but this holiday did not start out as a commercial holiday. This is a fact that shouldn’t surprise you because none of our holidays started out as what they are now. Our society is one of consumption. Thus, our holidays have become about material objects. Christmas and Easter are no longer religious celebrations but times of gifts. Even if you aren’t religious, Christmas should be about being with the ones you love, celebrating peace on earth and so on. Even President’s Day has a layer of consumerism. The biggest car and furniture sales of the year are held around President’s Day. It is a shame, but Valentine’s Day, the holiday of love, has turned into the biggest Hallmark holiday of them all. I personally love the traditional idea behind Valentine’s Day (and I’m not talking about the origin of the holiday because let’s face it, nobody wants to celebrate a martyr being killed) and the simple celebration of love. I prefer to buy the chocolates the following week (when they are half price) and I’d rather get flowers on a regular day than because it’s a holiday. But I will say Happy Belated Valentine’s Day to all those out there who are in love. And a special Happy Valentine’s Day to those who are alone because they deserve love just as much as everybody else.