Seriously, I bloody hate Valentine’s Day. I’ve always felt awkward about being forced into making gestures. I’m the same at Christmas, if I’m honest, perhaps it says more about my social anxieties than anything else, but I’m digressing and that’s perhaps a story for another time.
On February 14th, big business says it’s okay for me to love someone and to show it by showering them with sickeningly cute cards with grandiose – and pre-written, pre-formatted, and certainly not mine – declarations of love. Inscriptions such as:
“Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.”
“When you look at me, when you think of me, I am in paradise.”
“You put the happiness into my days, the smile into my heart.”
“I love you so much, more than words can say, to my beautiful love, happy Valentine’s Day.”
Seriously. Just stop.
Perhaps what it comes down to is a simple as I don’t like being told what to do. I don’t need a special day to tell someone I love them. If I love them then I can tell them I do on June 23rd as easily as I can on February 14th. Who determines these things? It’s the same as my aversion to marriage. Never have I wanted to be wed. My argument; “I don’t need a piece of paper to tell me that I am committed to someone”. It’s the same here; I don’t need a piece of neatly folded card to tell someone they mean something to me.
The only people who benefit from Valentines, as far as I can see it, are card retailers, chocolatiers, florists and overpriced restaurants peddling a special ‘valentines menu’ which is simply their standard fare with an inflated price tag and a ‘free’ glass of prosecco. Yay for spontaneous displays of affection(!)
Happy Valentine’s Day to all of ya…
