Valentine’s Day is one of those holidays that seemed almost nonexistent when I was growing up unless you were in elementary school and you had to give cards to the entire class! I do recall those days. Do you know what I did one year? I researched the meaning of every person’s name in the class and created a Valentine’s Day card with the meaning of their name. I don’t know why I happened to do that except that I was fascinated with names during that time, and I tended to be one who went over and above what was expected. (Wait!!! Has that changed?? Probably not!!)
When I got married, I decided that since my then-husband chose to forget Valentine’s Day, it meant nothing to me, and we didn’t need to celebrate it. Let me tell you something. That was a LIE!!! I remember having a massive breakdown at school one year because I had fed myself that lie for far too long.
My view on Valentine’s Day is this. It is a day. Sure, it is a special day, but if you are with the right life partner, every day should be Valentine’s Day, not just one day! Far too many people focus on this one day and make it mean something that it isn’t. Marriages that endure are built on much more than hearts, flowers, candy, fine dining, sex, and romance on just one day a year. Valentine’s Day should be a 365-Day holiday!
Do I celebrate Valentine’s Day now? I admit…not really. I mean, I’ll say it. My daughter is seventeen, so I don’t give her anything on that day. In truth, I give her things whenever I want to, not just on a particular day. I believe my mom is giving me something this year. But I can say now that it’s not a big deal. If I were in a relationship, would it be? I don’t really know. I still state that if you’re only celebrating your love once a year, your love will not last! That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it!
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2 Comments
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It’s easy to blame card, candy, floral, and gift companies for the commercialization of Valentine’s Day.
St. Valentine was a real person in the early Church. He was martyred, for defying Roman law after the end of Pax Romana, because he married couples and he gave sanctuary to others. He did this to honor God’s covenants to Believers. He died for his faith and for standing up to laws against Christians. While not a religious holiday, we celebrate to honor what he did.
So yes, we should honor and celebrate our love for others every day. Valentine’s Day is more than commercialism. When we value the freedoms we have to love one another, we are celebrating the sacrifices of one church leader in the face of Roman law and the Romans who persecuted the early Christians.
It’s all about perspective.
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Author
You are totally right on, Denise. It is something that is rarely talked about in any circles, so thank you for bringing that up. I never even thought to bring that in.
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