The Tyranny of Valentine's Day
Well, here we are again, on the eve of another blockbuster event designed to bring out your inner consumer. Have you bought your chocolates, flowers, jewelry, lingerie, yet? Better yet, are you thinking you'll receive chocolates, flowers, jewelry, lingerie? It's a good day to buy, that's for sure. But I continue my intense dislike of the day.
I used to hate this day in grade school too. Everyone had to send those damn little cards out, and in my day, you sure didn't have to give one to every kid in the class. So raw, hurt feelings were inevitable, and it didn't get any better in high school when they had fundraisers for hand-delivered cupcakes, or whatever the hell it was.
Am I sounding a bit bitter and twisted? Or possibly a tad martyred? Well, that at least would be more historically accurate, as all three of the saints known as Valentine were early Christian martyrs. Their feast day - February 14 - was associated with romance because it was when the birds began to couple (read, rut). Also it's associated with the Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia. So it's really more about procreation than romance.
Prehaps my foul mood has to do with the fact that February is universally known - at least in the Northern hemisphere - as the worst month for Seasonal Affective Disorder - depression, in other words. So whose bright-ass idea was it to put a day dedicated to romance smack dab in the middle of the worst month for depression? You're bound to beget more depression with that logic, no?
I've decided to head off to the casino tomorrow night and try my luck on the slots. I'll either come home more depressed, or very, very happy with bags of money. And then I'll go out and buy my own chocolates, flowers, jewelry, lingerie. Yeah. That'll show 'em.
Well, here we are again, on the eve of another blockbuster event designed to bring out your inner consumer. Have you bought your chocolates, flowers, jewelry, lingerie, yet? Better yet, are you thinking you'll receive chocolates, flowers, jewelry, lingerie? It's a good day to buy, that's for sure. But I continue my intense dislike of the day.
I used to hate this day in grade school too. Everyone had to send those damn little cards out, and in my day, you sure didn't have to give one to every kid in the class. So raw, hurt feelings were inevitable, and it didn't get any better in high school when they had fundraisers for hand-delivered cupcakes, or whatever the hell it was.
Am I sounding a bit bitter and twisted? Or possibly a tad martyred? Well, that at least would be more historically accurate, as all three of the saints known as Valentine were early Christian martyrs. Their feast day - February 14 - was associated with romance because it was when the birds began to couple (read, rut). Also it's associated with the Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia. So it's really more about procreation than romance.
Prehaps my foul mood has to do with the fact that February is universally known - at least in the Northern hemisphere - as the worst month for Seasonal Affective Disorder - depression, in other words. So whose bright-ass idea was it to put a day dedicated to romance smack dab in the middle of the worst month for depression? You're bound to beget more depression with that logic, no?
I've decided to head off to the casino tomorrow night and try my luck on the slots. I'll either come home more depressed, or very, very happy with bags of money. And then I'll go out and buy my own chocolates, flowers, jewelry, lingerie. Yeah. That'll show 'em.
Comments
I'm with you on being against the consumerism of this - or any - celebration day.
Would it make it better if I sang, "Iiiiii wanna hippopotamus for V-Day...!" ?
I vote we substitute one form of blatant consumerism for another - how about a visit to VV this weekend? Or fabricland? I'm keen on buying some fabric for the offspring to puke on...
S & Z - Ladies, you're really quite amusing!