Walking around the streets and visiting the malls around this time of year is never fun for the single folks. There's huge squishy teddy bears, giant paper hearts, plastic cupids hanging from ceilings, and a little string of paper hearts on every clerk's desk. Or…are there? This Valentine's Day, it seems that all of the hyped-up sugar of the holiday has crept away, or possibly it was forgotten; either way, the only decoration for Valentine's Day that I've seen so far is a box of candy hearts with a love quote on the box…it was on the desk in a bank.
Not that many people are complaining, I'm sure…I've been with my boy for 1 and a half years…in fact, February 14 th marks this special day. And I really could do without the giant paper hearts. But the question is, WHY aren't people having a stroke about Valentine's Day this year?
Let's take a look at the history of Valentine's Day: In 270 A.D., the Emperor of Rome outlawed marriage, because he felt that married soldiers would be less willing to tear themselves away from their wives and families. Valentine was a bishop that believed the Emperor was wrong in his belief, and he secretly performed matrimonious ceremonies on those who wanted to be married. Clearly, the Emperor, Claudius II, did not particularly agree with this, but saw the perseverance of Valentine. He asked for Valentine to disown his Christian religion and adopt the ways of the Roman Empire. Valentine declined, and poor, angry, my-way-or-the-highway Claudius II sentenced him to a three part execution, where he was beaten, stoned, and decapitated. He died on February 14 th .
Apparently, while in jail for his crime, Valentine fell in love with the jailer's daughter and sent her a final note, signed, “From Your Valentine.” Familiar expression? Hmmm…
It is a nice story, and it almost makes you want to celebrate the holiday. However, I have a few theories as to why it has been overlooked this year.
My friend's boyfriend told her that he hated Valentine's Day. “You shouldn't be extra nice and romantic to your significant other for one day. You should be like that all the time.” I couldn't agree more. Unfortunately, for many married couples who don't have time to be extra caring to their spouse, Valentine's Day is a great way to initiate a forced together time. Inflation has increased, and more people are working more hours than they were last year throughout the world. In fact, did you know that America now has more people working more weekly hours now than China? I believe that work has ruled out the thought of Valentine's Day; sadly, it seems like people are too busy for love in the modern day, even on the holiday where women can have an excuse to want to go out for a night instead of rest after a long, hard day of work.
Perhaps this reason doesn't suit you. Why then aren't the malls putting up their decorations to push the holiday forward, to get people to buy their seasonal goodies? Don't fret; I have another theory. St. Valentine was of the Christian religion, as the story dictates, and was marrying couples through Christian practices. If people can make such a big deal about Christmas, enough to call its single most prominent icon a HOLIDAY TREE…then why not try to attack Valentine's Day as well? Especially in America, political correctivity is taking over even that which has been common for hundreds of years. Granted, Valentine's Day isn't technically a Christian holiday, but the politically correct advocates of our day could still claim it to be offensive to put up decorations and publically celebrate.
If neither of these theories bode well with you…well then, blame the single people who stab the poor, innocent advert teddy bears. Or the weather. Happy Valentine's Day!
