My Thoughts on The Depreciation of a Celebration: Why Valentine’s Day Still Matters – Frenchie Davis
Is Valentine’s Day actually overrated? I imagine a lot of head nodding-yesssss-sssss-sssss-sss-ss! A lot of you have checked out of this holiday fad, decided to keep that money in your pockets. Some of you are secretly wishing there was just someone out there who is gonna surprise you and give you a reason to twerk in the mirror. The rest of you seem to be looking at the other two groups wondering how did we get to such polar extremes?
Contrary to popular belief, Valentine’s Day may not be as overrated as many think. Cynicism will have you believing that the day doesn’t matter. Perhaps you believe you do enough for your lover already or that all you need is a condom and a good IPA and all will be fine with the world. But let’s take a moment to think about how we grew to hate a day that is supposed to reflect love? I mean, did poor Valentine actually get beheaded by Claudius the II for nothing?
Let’s fast forward to the place in the twilight zone where V-day no longer exists and our children are never taught symbolisms of caring, sharing hearts and celebrating “I love you’s”. Let’s just do away with all the holidays that celebrate “togetherness” after all its just about materialism anyway, right? I could understand if the day did more harm than good, but there’s concern to be had that people are actually ok with eradicating opportunities to celebrate connection. Perhaps you can’t see the roses for the thorns. Have you been pricked by love so much that the thought of hearts, chocolates and date nights frustrate and overwhelm you?
Valentine’s Day shouldn’t lead to resentment, apathy, depression, or hopelessness. These feelings can begin to erode your ability to trust, show affection, appreciation and other characteristics that allow for healthy relationships to prosper, beware of those thorns. Valentine’s Day isn’t the real problem, Intimacy Deficit is. Intimacy deficits will be there long after these 24- hours pass us by, smell the roses. If we will it so, Valentine’s Day is less about materialism and more about the spirit of connection. While we won’t always have a lover to connect with, we should still be connecting with those we love. If we unpack our feelings about Valentine’s Day, we can begin to acknowledge how far from human connection we’ve become. Maybe perhaps this introspection can afford us the opportunity to find ways to heal, reconnect and embrace love. Discarding holidays won’t answer the deficits we feel in hearts but reconnecting to loved ones gives us the joy we all so deserve.