As the years go by I realize that this holiday has more people who hate it than those who don't. Why, do you ask them? Because it's a made up holiday! It's all about consumerism!! It's the florists and the card companies that profit!!! GRRRRR.
To which I respond yes, that's true. Only thing is, all holidays fit that description!
As most others, February 14th also has a vague religious root, but having a religious reason doesn't make you any more or less of a made-up holiday. The 25th of December was bogarted from the pagans in an attempt to convert more of them to Christianity, the logic behind it being that they would be warmer to the idea if they didn't have to give up the holidays they already had. Halloween is based on the pagan All Hallow's Eve, which was a sort of New Years and when they believed that the veil between the physical world and the spiritual world was at its thinnest. Your birthday is an arbitrary day on which you celebrate having made it for another year on this planet, though in reality you get no older on the day of your birthday than you do any other day of the year. Same goes for January 1st. So honestly, who the hell cares if it was made up or not?
Valentine's Day is a good excuse to do something spontaneous and romantic for your lover, which is especially useful for couples that have been together for the long haul and maybe their romantic life has gotten to be a little routine. Christmas is an excellent excuse to really think about your friends and family, choose a gift you think they'll love, be together with them and have fun. Easter is an excellent excuse to eat a load of chocolate without feeling guilty, and Mardi Gras is a great excuse to have a really raucus partAY. Your birthday is a day for you to feel special, and for you to get to do whatever the hell you want to do and your friends have to go along with it because, after all, it is your birthday. New Years is an excellent excuse to go out with your friends, get smashed and have a blast. Well, can't you do these things on any day of the year? Of course you can! But it's always nice to have a little reminder in the calendar that you are long overdue a nice present for your mom, or a candlelit dinner for two to tell your lover how much you love them.
The holidays you prefer will depend on what they mean to you, what childhood memories you associate with those dates, what you enjoy doing on those specific days. You don't have to love them all, just acknowledge that a specific day of the year is only as special as you want it to be. Nothing more, nothing less.
So please, chill out! Don't want to give your money to that greedy corporate hallmark? Then fucking don't! Make your own card! Or don't give a card at all, just spare me your snide remarks, you who shits all over February 14th but starts putting up the Christmas tree in October.
Disclaimer: I actually hardly give two shits about V Day, I'm just making a point :)
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