When it comes to holidays, I am an Easter guy. I love what it represents first and foremost. But I also enjoy that it symbolizes the start of Spring. I like that it ends a fast, I like the candy associated with the holiday, and I like that it is less laid back than some holidays but more involved than others. It is just perfect. I also love Christmas. Thanksgiving is another holiday I enjoy.
Not all holidays are circled in red pen on my calendar, however. I have never gotten really into Columbus Day, he treated the Natives pretty bad. I don’t really look that forward to Hanukkah, mainly because I am not Jewish. Besides all of the football, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are a little depressing to me. And oh yes, then there is Valentine’s Day…
If you asked me about Valentine’s Day, I would say I could take it or leave it…but if you really pushed me hard I would probably say that I would not mind if they totally axed it off the calendar. Sayonora. No more. Bye bye Valentine’s Day.
But this is really just because I think the holiday is way too commercialized and a little too corny for my liking. I am just going to leave it at that. I am not going to pull out any stupid clichés that people use to say how a special day is not needed to show someone you love them or say something overly sentimental like “every day is Valentine’s Day for me.” For me, V-Day is just a little over the top. End of story.
However, even though I freely admit that Valentine’s Day is not my favorite, I can’t help but shake my head at those people who publically announce their undying hatred for February 14 to anyone and everyone. From as long as I can remember, even all the way back in grade school, I have always been around people with this attitude. But as the years have gone on and social media has grown and grown, I feel the hatred, anger, and bitterness towards Valentine’s Day has just gotten a tad out of control. I checked my newsfeed from my iPhone during a meeting today and it said that thirty-two people had posted about Valentine’s Day. With an “Oh man, here we go” running through my head I clicked through and read what people were saying. Easily, seventy percent of the people were smashing the holiday. Bold statements, cheesy quotes, copied statuses, “I hate Valentine’s Day” get-togethers, comics, and one-liners that denounced V-Day took over my feed. So much time, thought, and energy wasted on something so stupid. The saddest thing about all of this though is that I have heard and seen this anti-Valentine’s Day stuff for well over a week now, another sign that it is getting out of hand. It seems that once February comes around, the haters come out and let loose, enabling a stupid holiday to get inside their heads and bother them.
My advice to people who hate Valentine’s Day is to just let the people who actually like the holiday to have their fun. There are much worse things to celebrate than love, even if it is commercialized love. To me, all the people who openly whine and snivel about V-Day just come across as jealous and unhappy. I mean come on, let’s be real here, most people who hate the holiday on a given year are probably single. Yes, it is tough, but take the day with dignity and class. Be happy for the people with sweethearts and loved ones. Fill your void by doing something special for your Mom or a friend. It will actually make you feel better. Just resist the urge to rain on someone else’s parade. While I am at it though, if you are fortunate enough to have someone on Valentine’s Day and you are around people who are single and who you know are having a tough time, curb your enthusiasm just a little bit. No need to rub their misery in their faces.
To everyone who hates Valentine’s Day I hope tomorrow goes by fast for you and the pain is minimal. Things will go back to normal by Wednesday. To everyone with a special someone and big plans, have fun. Happy Valentines 2012! Don’t Blink.
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