Haters gonna’ hate. As the date February 14th – otherwise known as Valentine’s Day – approaches, you start hearing comments like these:
“Single and proud of it. No ball and chain here, suckas!”
“Valentine’s Day is a commercial machination to get you to spend money on empty, meaningless crap.”
“Feeling sorry for all the guys [or gals] that have to impress their girlfriends [or boyfriends] today.”
And you’ll see Internet memes like these:
These are the Scrooges of Valentine’s Day for whatever reason. Maybe they had a bad romantic experience (or multiple experiences). Perhaps liking Valentine’s Day is too mainstream. Or they’re just taking out their anger about being romantically unattached on a day dedicated to lovey-dovey-ness.
Well, to you curmudgeons, I say “Okay.”
I know, that was really sticking it to ‘em. In actuality, I don’t mind that people hate on Valentine’s Day. To me, it really is just another day – not because I’ve been romantically spurned or I hate popular ideas. I don’t like it, I don’t not like it. It simply has no meaning to me. Christmas and New Year’s Day don’t even do it for me and those are the A-list holidays, ones where you actually get several days or weeks off and/or are required to gather with your extended family. Christmas hasn’t meant much to me ever since the child wonderment left. New Year’s lost its panache when I realized resolutions made on that day are destined to fail. I’m too old for Easter egg hunts. I’ve seen too many 4th of July fireworks, but am still mildly amused by poppers (the firecracker, not the drug). I like turkey feasts well enough, but honestly, I’m already thankful year-round. V-Day is just another day that’s lost some of its meaning along the way.
In summation, liking Valentine’s Day doesn’t hurt anyone. If you’re going to go out and do something special with your significant other, good for you. I hope you have fun (Trust me, that had no irony in it. I truly do wish you the best.) And if you’re not doing anything “special,” good for you, too. Let the haters hate and the lovers love.
What am I going to do for Valentine’s Day on February 14? Go to class, drink a chai, maybe grab a bite with a pal, go home, read a bit, and watch House of Cards. Ya know, just a typical Thursday.
Ah, what the hell. Happy Valentine’s Day, folks.
Read more about Valentine’s Day shenanigans with these links:
- “How Valentine’s Day Works” (HowStuffWorks)
- Ask A Dude: Valentine’s Day (High Voltage Blog)
- Happy Lover’s Day (madamfrank)
- To: You, Love: Me; Why people who hate on fun holiday’s suck (Girl Meets World)
- Valentine’s Week: Some Parts Sweet, Some Parts Sexy (Book of Odds)
Thoughts? Got any special plans for V-Day? Any good V-Day stories?
