Anti-Valentines Day
The reasons to hate Valentines Day are endless but where do you start? We’ll take the anti-consumerism route, which as you may have guessed, goes along the lines of Valentines Day being a Hallmark Holiday. The capitalist machine has infiltrated society and made flowers, chocolates and cards seem like the norm. This is the bare minimum of acceptability. But of course, if you want to win your loved one over than you must splurge on dinner, drinks, champagne, lingerie and a trip to Paris. These days the sky’s the limit because how can you ever truly express your love, sincerity, desire, passion and lust for anther person without material possessions? It’s a scam people. The Christian martyrs for whom the day was named were both dead by AD 269. It wasn’t until the High Middle Ages and the preoccupation with courtly love that St. Valentine became associated with love. The train of thought chugs along the lines of Valentine being taken from the Latin route valor, which means worthy. So one worthy of me, my love. Happy Valentine’s Day.
Next on the list of reasons to strike Valentines Day from our calendars and from our hearts is the stigma it places on those in society who are heartbroken or loveless. On the most romantic of days how pitiful it is to be at home with no one to keep you company but Ben & Jerry. Couples are at the pub, the theatre or even on vacation, but if as a single person you’re seen out and about on your own, swimming in a sea of people joined at the hip, then it’s a travesty. Most would rather drive razors under their fingernails than dodge and weave the onslaught of canoodling that leaving the house forces them to face. Even renting a movie on the way home is somehow shameful. Better to get it an extra day before.
The reasons why Valentines Day can stay? For the singles parties and the drunken debauchery that ensues. Because of the huge amount of chocolate available from every shop in town. Because I really do look good in red and because what else are we going to grip about in February?
So my advice for single travellers is board up the windows and settle down until the storm of affection passes.
