February 14th is an interesting day. Red and pink become the only colors you can see, the card section at Target is covered with hearts, musical cards with love songs, and “I love you!” written everywhere, and chocolate and heart-shaped candies flood each store. On one hand, the holiday seems to be focused on romantic love, but then you have CareBears Valentines that say, “I love you beary much!” being handed out in elementary school classrooms and people saying we should celebrate anyone we love, from our family and friends to our pets. Then there are those who have renamed this holiday as SAD Day (aka Single Awareness Day) and boycott the whole thing or spend it surrounded by tissues while they watch a romantic comedy alone on their couch. It’s a holiday that brings up a range of emotions and attitudes, and it’s likely that throughout each person’s life their attitude towards February 14th has fluctuated.
This holiday wasn’t really on my radar until I came to the US and discovered that on February 14th children would give each other little cards with various cartoon characters that sometimes had a candy or lollipop attached. Everyone in class gave each other Valentines, so no one was left out. Then, when I hit junior high, I discovered that only the popular kids or those who had parents that worked at the school got a Valentine Gram (usually consisting of a small teddy bear, a bag of candy, and a cute heart-shaped tag). As high school rolled around, my friends who were dating would receive flowers in the middle of class while everyone else pretended not to care and suddenly became very interested in the geography of the North Pole that they had previously found ridiculously boring. Finally, I hit my college years, and the reality became inevitable: as much as I tried to focus on filial and friendship love, I could no longer pretend that I didn’t have a Valentine. Sorry, mom and dad, but you asking me to be your Valentine didn’t count. My special Valentine was nowhere to be found.
During my young adult years, I came to think of Valentine’s Day as a reminder of what is to come. I gave up trying to ignore my nonexistent love life and pretending it was just as nice telling my family and friends that I loved them , and I started to view the holiday with joy and hope for the future. Last year I spend Valentine’s Day having dinner with some friends who were also single, and together we shared with each other our hopes for the day when we’ll have our own Valentines. I tried to make an effort to love those around me and look forward to the day when I can spend Valentine’s Day with my own special someone and finally celebrate the holiday to its fullest.
Fast forward to 2012. For the first time in my life, I will actually have a Valentine on Valentine’s Day. My special someone has been in my life for almost a year, and I’m looking forward to celebrating this special day with him by my side. That said, I am very much aware that there are many individuals out there who have mixed emotions about February 14th, 2012. I won’t say how they should celebrate this holiday or pretend that Valentine’s Day need not be related to romance, and I most certainly will not say we should just focus on God’s love for us(even though that is always a good thing to do). All that I will say is that love and romance is a beautiful thing, and there is something very special about being chosen and loved by someone. That is something we can acknowledge despite complicated emotions that may arise depending on our individual situation. Whether or not you are experiencing love first-hand, I wish you a very happy Valentine’s Day. Let’s celebrate love and have hope! Love is indeed a wonderful and extravagant gift.
More Posts Like This One:
Stay Updated
Blog Authors
Yay so happy for you guys! Almost a year… wow.
Congratulations! Thanks for not overtly “spiritualizing” something that celebrates romance. I think romance itself, and true love, is a gift from God. One of the “signs” that my wife and I were “meant” to be together was the Valentine’s Day right before we started dating. We had different plans that day, but we were both thinking of each other. We’ve never missed a Valentine’s Day since.