Contributed by: Jet on Sunday, February 05 2012 @ 08:57 am
Last modified on
Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching, a holiday much beloved by children who enjoy candy hearts. For everyone else, though, it seems to be either an obligation, an object of disparagement, or a day of raised expectations. Unlike almost every other holiday, I can’t really find anyone who actually likes Valentine’s Day.
Sure, friends who are in couples enjoy getting a gift or flowers, but nearly every single one says that it would mean the same - no more, no less - on any other day. Many have expressed the same “anti-Valentine’s” sentiment commonly attributed to single people - you don’t have to be single to notice that jewelry ads are literally the same as they were for the winter holidays, with a different voiceover slipped in.
“If my husband completely forgot about Valentine’s Day and we didn’t do anything at all, I probably wouldn’t even notice,” my friend, Chloe, tells me. “That is, I wouldn’t notice if I didn’t have to go to work. Then I just know I’d get tsks and pitying looks from my co-workers. I feel like I have to bring in a stuffed animal to reassure them my marriage is good - which is ridiculous, but easier than being whispered about.”
Why bring this up? Because I’ve known so many single people who feel like they need someone special on Valentine’s Day. Meanwhile, many attached people feel the holiday is just as empty and meaningless for them, and they, too, feel they must be “doing something wrong” if they aren’t wrapped up in the red and lace.
Ask yourself this: isn’t it true that every couple is comprised of two unique individuals? Thus, every couple is a unique combination, with their own ways of expressing love and romantic feelings? Why, then, should there be a one-size-fits-all holiday, with one-size-fits-all traditions?
This Valentine’s Day, whether you’re single or attached, do what makes you (or you and your partner) happy. If you enjoy the kitsch of sending superhero Valentines, great. If you’d like the traditional roses and wine, perfect. And if you’d rather go solo mini-golfing? That works too - in life as well as on one day.