The Big V…and V is for Valentine
There are two types of people in the world. There are those who hate Valentine’s Day and choose to commemorate February 14 wearing a cheerful shade of green and proclaiming to anyone who will listen that “I’m ignoring Valentine’s Day this year!” with the fervent enthusiasm of a college freshman on the way to his first kegger.
There are also those who embrace it. Those who, whether coupled or in the throes of singledom, spend the eve of the day of St. Valentine knee-deep in red construction paper and heart shaped candy Necco wafers. February 14 means champagne and red velvet cake, and possibly a steak dinner of some sort. They make homemade heart shaped cookies and wear bright red sweaters, maybe even socks with pink and red hearts emblazoned from heel to toe.
For me, Valentine’s Day has always fallen on the same end of the spectrum as Halloween, St. Patrick’s Day and Cinco de Mayo – a “holiday” that lends itself to an excuse to have your friends over for dinner and cocktails – and yes, a reason to make homemade heart shaped cookies. Though I’ll never say no to an acceptable reason to hand-craft a greeting card – or eat chocolate – I’ve also never given much thought or placed a great deal of significance on the romantic aspect of Valentine’s Day.
Though I’ve had my share of relationships throughout my teens and early twenties, I’ve yet to have a date on Valentine’s Day. Last year, I came close. I was dating a guy that I didn’t like because he was nice and I couldn’t bring myself to break it off until my best friend and I went to Target in early February. When we hit the Valentine’s Day novelty aisle – heart shaped cake pans, heart shaped boxes of chocolates decorated with Sponge Bob Square Pants decals, teddy bears shaped like hearts, teddy bears holding hearts, red shrink-wrapped everything – I had reached my breaking point.
Valentine’s Day can be about romance when you have someone special in your life to be romantic with, but it certainly doesn’t have to be. Like everything else in life, it’s a holiday that is what you make it to be – which makes me wonder why people have such strong opinions about it. Valentine’s Day is accused of being an overly commercialized holiday – but have you seen the mall in December? (November, October or September, for that matter….)
This year, I’ve already baked the heart-shaped cookies and made it through the Valentine’s Day novelty aisle at Target without preempting a nervous breakdown. I might make a card or two and I support all things pink and red, but I still roll my eyes at Zales’ commercials and no, I have no immediate plans for any type of activity involving a heart shaped cake pan.
If one thing is for sure though, there will be chocolate.
Now, tell me your thoughts on Valentine’s Day. Do you love it? Are you anti?
I also want to hear what you have planned for the big V-Day: Dinner with the girls? Hot dates? Let’s hear it all!
And Happy Valentine’s Day, however you choose to celebrate!
February 13th, 2009 at 1:32 am
I’m single but I am not letting that stop me from sending cards to my friends because really, who doesn’t like mail? And I agree, there must be chocolate!
February 13th, 2009 at 1:56 am
My fiance and I have always kept it a pretty low key day. This year we’ve made a vow to make it a normal day until the evening, and then we will rent a movie and exchange cards. Not much, but our anniversary is less than a month away and it’s more important to me to celebrate that, then Valentine’s day. It may be commercialized, but I love an excuse to celebrate!
February 13th, 2009 at 3:50 am
The Boy and I are going out for a meal tonight to avoid the extortionate prices that places have on VDay… and that’s about it. No cards or presents…he’s not really the romantic type!
February 13th, 2009 at 8:52 am
Is it weird that I’m not on either end of the spectrum? I’m actually horrifically apathetic to the holiday. Even when I had a boyf, we didn’t celebrate V-day. I think, once, I made him drive me to the store to buy stationery. That’s right, STATIONERY. So, to me, it’s just like any other day, and I don’t rage at all the couples in love, and I don’t celebrate it either.
Although, it is definitely a good reason for chocolate, booze and celebrating your singlehood if your whole gaggle of friends are going out. But then again, I do that every weekend too. haha.
I mean, no need to waste all that booze and chocolate right?
February 13th, 2009 at 8:53 am
Yegads! I referred to V-day as a holiday. I meant it to be “holiday” - not an ACTUAL holiday…
February 13th, 2009 at 9:08 am
Ive got a hot date planned!
I like the day. I mean, it gives a chanve for people to be romantic. Granted, it should happen more often but sometimes we get caught up in routine and forget about these things…
plus it gived men a chance to get laid. WHich I am always, all for.
February 13th, 2009 at 9:54 am
I have two dates planned with the girlfriend, one a double date tonight and just us tomorrow.
Even during my non-dating years i. e. high school I liked Valentine’s Day. While yeah like Matt said, it gives men a chance to get laid he’s also right in that sometimes it reminds us to be more romantic to our S. O. when life gets in the way.
February 13th, 2009 at 11:12 am
i like v-day when i’m with someone, hate it when i’m not. this year i’m with someone and he has plans for us, but hasn’t told me them. since i’m sneaky though, i’ve figured out that we’re going to dinner and the MN Wild hockey game, which is a great date!
February 13th, 2009 at 11:26 am
I actually like Valentine’s Day, even though I too have never had a date for the day. Usually I’m without a boyfriend during the month of February. And even when I had one a couple years ago, he was on call on Valentine’s Day, so we celebrated on a different day and just hung out at his house on the actual day, which I don’t count as a date. When I’m single, like this year, I still like the day… love the candy and hearts and stuff you see in the stores… but always wish I had someone to spend it with. I don’t have definite plans this year. All I know is that I’m buying some champagne and candy today, whether I end up sharing it with friends or have it all myself is yet to be determined!
February 13th, 2009 at 11:46 am
I haven’t had anyone to celebrate Valentine’s Day with for the last 5 or 6 years. Even if I happened to be dating someone around mid-February, it never tended to be serious enough to make a big to-do about. In fact, I came to look at Valentine’s Day as an opportunity to go out and trawl the bars for depressed women looking for love (or maybe I was just looking for excuses to trawl for women?).
Now, though, I actually have someone to celebrate with — someone worth celebrating. So this February 14th I can be found holed up in my kitchen cooking a Valentine’s Day feast, complete with her favorite dessert. I can’t help but marvel at how far I’ve come… or at least how much meeting the right person can make you want to be better.
February 13th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
Yay! A fellow fan of all things pink and red!
I have a different opinion on the heart-shaped cake pans, though. I want to get one just so I can make conversation heart cakes. I think my first one will say “EAT ME.”
February 13th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
i’ve never been into v-day but my mom has always tried to make it special for me, ever since I was little.
but, i actually wrote a post over at my blog about how i’m spending the enitre day EATING MYSELF SILLY.
February 13th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
I usually feel irritated over the commercial aspects of it, along with the implication that all I want are chocolate, flowers, and/or diamonds, but I have a huge weakness for holidays that give me an excuse to buy presents for people I care about. My boyfriend of almost a year has to work on V-Day this year (he’s a cook at an upscale restaurant), but that’s okay — I got him a torque wrench and a dorky card, and we’ll probably go down to the food carts once he gets off so that we can sit by the fire pit there and drink cocoa.
I Valentine’s Day is a lot more fun when you’re not with someone who’s putting a lot of pressure on you to “prove” you love them. I had an ex-girlfriend who used to get mad that I couldn’t afford to buy her jewelry or dinner at a fancy restaurant. Those Valentine’s Days? Awful. I definitely prefer the laid-back thing I have going with my boy now.
February 13th, 2009 at 10:23 pm
I’m so glad you wrote this post because this is exactly how I feel. I’ve always spent Valentine’s Day with friends and focused more on that than any kind of romance. Perhaps it is because I’ve never had a romantic valentine but I don’t think being single should mean that the holiday means any less. I look forward to the homemade cards and cookies.
Also, I will be spending the night out at a basketball game with a friend. Not too romantic but it will be fun
February 14th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
valentine’s day doesn’t kill me, mean it would be nice if i had a boy to celebrate it with but i’m used to being single.
it is what it is.
February 15th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
[...] Day post, or a heart-shaped cookie extravaganza (and because you can find those here and here), I thought it would only be appropriate, in the hours immediately following February 14, [...]
February 16th, 2009 at 2:14 am
I’m actually one of those shades of grey folks, honestly. I don’t get really wrapped up in it, because I think colour-by-the-numbers romance (e.g., flowers + chocolate = love) isn’t real romance, but at the same time, I don’t hate it, because I still think there is something nice about celebrating love. Does that make sense?