Love Part 2: The Value of Valentines Day

So as I thought more and more about this month’s festivities, I decided that this topic of love would become a three part series; this being part two. Part one was about the meaning of Love, but this part is about Valentines Day as a holiday. What is its value?

So for a long time I have hated Valentines Day. Mostly because I am a romantic with no one to romance or be romanced by, but this year something changed. Not my relationship status, but rather my attitude and outlook. Believe it or not, one of the big things that changed my attitude was a scene from this week’s episode of Glee (yes I’m a nerd). There is a moment when two of the characters in the show are talking about Valentines Day and one says that he hates it, but the other says something about how it is a day that gives you courage to say how you feel about someone. At first I just thought that it was a cute sentiment, but then I thought about it in more personal way. Peter, forgive me if you read this and are embarrassed.

364 days out of the year my brother is not all that romantic, but the 14th of February hits and he pulls out all the stops. This year he has planned out a beautiful, immaculate, and romantic meal for this girl he likes. He has planned an appetizer, main course, dessert, and even a cocktail that he ordered a special garnish for way in advance. As he was describing this menu to me over the phone all I could think was, “I just wish a guy would buy me a box of chocolates!” Now don’t get me wrong, my brother has his moments the 364 days of the year, but it seems that there is just something about Valentines Day that gives him and guys like him a chance to lay it all out on the line. To be honest, I LOVE IT!!!

Part of me still longs for the Valentines Day when a man takes this day to try a woo me, but for now I will enjoy watching and listening to the stories of the people around me. And by no means do I think that this day should replace all the “I love you” moments of the rest of the year, but I do see it as a beautiful day in which people are given the courage to prepare “big acts” of love, emotion, or feeling (all depending on the place each couple is in their relationship).

Yes, I do think that Valentines Day has become very commercialized. Yet, if we take into consideration my last post (redefining Love) and combine it with Valentines Day, then commercialism shouldn’t matter. It is not about how much you spend on your gift, but rather how much of YOURSELF you put into it. If a guy cooked a meal for me like my brother is cooking for this girl, I wouldn’t be thinking, “wow. He must care cause he paid a lot for this food,” I would be thinking, “WOW. He must care a lot because of how much TIME he has spent on ME.”

I know that much of this probably seemed random and scatter brained and super cheese-tastic, but I just wanted to take a minute to recognize that there IS value in Valentines Day (something that I have often ignored). I also wanted to say that anyone can give a box of chocolates or a teddy bear, but it takes a person who really cares to give of themselves. So, I encourage you this year to give of yourself to the ones you love. Happy Valentines Day. ^_^