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Thread: Has Valentine's Day lost its romance?

  1. #1
    Administrator CatInASuit's avatar
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    Default Has Valentine's Day lost its romance?

    It's Valentine's Day, the one day of the year you are supposed to make a romantic gesture to the one you love and admire.

    It's named after Saint Valentine, who went supposedly went round marrying Christian romans when it was illegal to do so. When he was captured, he refused to convert to a pagan faith and instead tried to convert the emperor to Christianity. He was executed, of course, like a lot of Christians in the Roman empire, and yet somehow his name has become symbolic with what is supposed to be a gesture of romance.

    The tradition has been going on for many decades. A gift or note from an unknown admirer, a little something to show affection to one you love.

    But all I have seen today is a lot of commercials for people to go out and buy gifts for the one they love. Expensive gifts, gifts the other half must want to have which may have some vague connection to hearts, flowers and bunnies.

    Of course all the card shops are full of hugely overpriced cards, which are also getting larger by the year. It's no longer good enough to give a single rose, you now have to give at least a dozen very overpriced roses in a huge bouquet, wrapped in expensive paper. A simple gift showing an expression of love and admiration is no longer enough, it has to be bigger and better than last year or obviously you are not showing enough love and affection.

    But is all the rampant commercialisation just evading the point and it is something we should consider. It is a day for romance, not for you but for the one you love. It's not about making you happy or giving that that thrill when you know some loves you, it's about making someone else feel special just for one day.

    In some ways, I think the world has lost what made Valentine's special. As I look around, I think it has lost its romance, it has become another chore, another day on the calendar when the world expects everyone to make a big fuss and loudly proclaim from the rooftops how special the one you love is.

    But that's not what romance means to me. It's a single spark between two people, a day when all that matters is trying to make another person happy.
    In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.

  2. #2
    Prehistoric Bitchslapper Sarahfeena's avatar
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    I feel like all the romantic occasions are like this these days. Getting engaged? You'd better have the RIGHT ring, or she'll think you won't mean it! Christmas? You used to be able to, say, get some nice edition of a favorite book or a pretty sweater. Now it's gotta be expensive jewelry or electronics.

    You've inspired me. I'm going to make my husband some homemade brownies today.

  3. #3
    Elen síla lumenn' omentielvo What Exit?'s avatar
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    It is only getting worse if people allow it to. To me it is simply a day on the calendar that makes it easy to remind us of our love. I try not to go nuts but then I did not go nuts with our engagement either. I bought my bride to be a simple ring with a small stone for a lowish price by engagement ring standards* and then I took her shopping for an upright piano as the rest of the engagement gift. She had a great time shopping for one among the used pianos and she has use it regularly ever since and is now teaching my son "Linus and Lucy" on the same piano.

    This year I ran out and got her some small pieces of jewelry and a box of excellent chocolate from a local factory that makes far better chocolate then the big names. I will also be going out to dinner with her tonight leaving the kids at home with my brother. Honestly I did not even bother with a card. They are silly and keep getting sillier.



    * Part of this is a long standing disgust with the diamond industry where apparently I was ahead of the curve in loathing them and their horrible history.

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