My Perspective on Valentine’s Day

February 13, 2011 by Barbara Jacoby
Filed under Creating Happiness, Domestic Abuse, Recent Posts

According to Wikipedia,

Saint Valentine’s Day, commonly shortened to Valentine’s Day is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs, Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496 AD. It was deleted from the Roman calendar of saints in 1969 by Pope Paul VI, but its religious observance is still permitted. It is traditionally a day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as “valentines”). The day first became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.

It seems that we have strayed quite a distance from the original intent for this holiday but there are certain aspects that do remain that are quite charming.

It should surely include lots of love and laughter and sharing and caring which means that you will be giving each other the greatest gift of all on this special day and that is your time and yourself.

The idea of given someone a Valentine, some chocolates or flowers is really nice. Perhaps a special date night celebration may be on some people’s lists and of course, a marriage proposal or wedding on Valentine’s Day is very romantic. But, when expectations of what should happen on this day overtake the loving sentiments that were intended, then we are doing anything but giving love and affection to those who are important to us.

I know many women who expect that for Valentine’s Day they should have lavish bouquets of flowers delivered to their offices so that everyone can see how much someone loves them. There are those who expect expensive nights out on the town with fancy clothes and fancy foods and special tokens of love, like expensive jewelry. There are those who feel unloved if they do not get a vacation or lavish gifts for the holiday. This is just so sad because they are missing out on the real meaning of the day and are so focused on what they think that they should be getting that they completely forget about giving something special to the special love in their lives from whom they expect these presents.

I do not understand how anyone can say that love someone else and then be so angry if they do not receive special gifts and attention on Valentine’s Day. I don’t believe that you can base any relationship on what you can get out of it. I can’t imagine having the need to show off whatever one might receive by taking it or having it delivered to a person’s office (and don’t tell me that it is because it can’t be delivered to your home because you are working). There are plenty of ways to get whatever to the person that you want so that the gift, the time, the experiences and the sharing are just between you and your special love.

There are many ways to enjoy the day without spending lots of money. If you want to celebrate the day, why not do so by making your special someone’s favorite meal? Perhaps a shared treat or some chocolates or a special champagne toast can mark the day. It should surely include lots of love and laughter and sharing and caring which means that you will be giving each other the greatest gift of all on this special day and that is your time and yourself. There is truly not a gift that you can buy that would ever be better than this.