I just want to go back in time and kick whoever created this holiday right between the legs.
St. Valentine, from what I remember from a picture book I was given after my First Communion, was a pretty good guy.
Say what you will about Saint Valentine, you probably won't be able to change my mind. The holiday is just basically one big "F*** YOU!".
I don't like Valentine's Day, myself. Never did.. especially when I was younger and single. I recall being a young awkward little squirt and the feeling of fear and loathing whenever Valentine's Day rolled around. I never had the courage to give anything to my crushes and was terrified of being made to look like an idiot. Plus I couldn't stand the fake lovey dovey behaviour of my classmates pairing off in stereotypical ways.
I learned to justify this hatred of Valentine's Day (which only resulted from my own self-inflicted social retardation and poor self-esteem) by taking aim at the fakeness of it all. It was a marketing ploy to force people into buying things for each other and forcing romance. And if I did have a girlfriend, well, I'd have the excruciating experience of having to find a good enough gift, scared that she might hate it. Seriously, now. Chocolate? Flowers? That's not going to impress anyone. I'll look like I don't even care. And what about a romantic date? No ideas. For the awkward guy, Valentine's Day is torture.
And you know what? If I gave my girlfriend flowers or chocolates or a stuffed animal or the flu or ANYTHING on ANY day that wasn't Valentine's Day, it would be a fun surprise that ends up being
more special because I didn't buy it out of obligation to please this silly tradition.
So yeah, I didn't like Valentine's Day. My current partner did but over the years I seemed to have talked her out of it. We don't do anything for Valentine's Day. We do things because we love each every day of the year and want that to be reflected in all of the things we do for one another. Isn't that just so sweet? Doesn't it make you want to knit?
It must be a product of having a partner and therefore of not feeling like you need to give a damn to impress anyone attractive anymore besides one person, but now when I read anti-Valentine's Day stuff around that same sentiment I held (and do hold still) seems really quite sad. I think it's because for the socially awkward guy, when we let society tell us that we need to be doing and feeling X and Y because it's That Day, we give That Day so much more power than it obviously deserves because it's a rather silly waste of everyone's time. Valentine's Day conjures up so many ideas and thoughts and feelings and memories because we've been convinced it's special and its traditions should be celebrated. So it turns out that
we are the fools because we're giving so much attention to day we all agree is a complete farce. It's much healthier to learn to smile and roll your eyes. So, when I read posts like yours, this entire diatribe could have been summarized as
