I'm taking an impromptu break from my menswear series this week to talk about something different, on the eve of possibly the most successful unofficial and commercialized holiday other than Christmas or Super Bowl Sunday—Valentine's Day.
Hey, at least Christmas does technically possess a deeper religious meaning for most of the U.S., beneath the Black Friday black eyes and eggnog hangovers. And at least we all know exactly why we're emptying grocery stores and convenience marts of their stock of beer and Doritos on Super Bowl Sunday—to watch $5 million commercials and the halftime show (Puppy-Monkey-Baby—never again). As commercialistic and heartless as it might be, there is no confusion or qualms as to why we're doing it—it's just how things are.
This is not the case with Valentine's Day. Now don't get me wrong—I'm not opposed to Valentine's Day. I am most definitely enough of a romantic sap to be over the moon about the idea of taking a day to spread and reveal love for one another. I'm engaged myself, and just enjoyed the perfect early Valentine's Day with my fiancé. But even though I'm in a relationship now, the state of life that Valentine's Day doctrine declares ideal, I haven't forgotten, by a long shot, what it felt like to be single on Valentine's Day. And the unavoidable truth is that it sucked. I was a romantic sap ever since childhood, and that meant an awful lot of lonely February 14ths. And this is by no means just my story. Even within my own friend group, most of the people closest to me mustered their way through the holiday weekend alone, along with plenty of others.
The fact is that there is a tremendous amount of pressure that comes with this holiday. If you're in a relationship, you're expected to step up and make sure that the price tag on the accumulated flowers, jewelry and chocolate you bought for your significant other is beyond scrutiny or critique. If you're single, you're expected to make a mad scramble to find and latch onto someone for the duration of this holiday to avoid feeling alone, leading to such commonly seen status updates as: "If anyone is secretly in love with me, now's the time to tell me...". If you fail in either of these ways, you're supposedly "doing Valentine's Day wrong."
Well, guess what—I propose that we've all been doing Valentine's Day wrong. Whatever this holiday began as with roots connected to Saint Valentine and the mutual exchange of love among friends, this is not how it was meant to be. Valentine's day should be a day to celebrate love with everyone, not just a potential romantic interest--and certainly not to let Hallmark and Russel Stover ransack our wallets.
It's just wrong, guys, and we know it. I'm not saying that it's wrong to treat your significant other (if you have one) to something nice on Valentine's Day—I certainly did, and she did for me as well. It's just my humble opinion that we need to expand the circle of who we show love to on Valentine's Day. By the time we're finished, no one should have to feel alone or left out. And in case you think I'm purely saying this because I'm as sappy as Trust Fall Girl from Mean Girls, I'm not.
I also really just wanna spit in the face of corporate Valentine's Day. Guys—$20 for a dozen roses? Highway robbery. Last thought—what if we all just got each other Hershey bars and laughed up this holiday together?
Just my view of things.
