Hello lovelies,
So, as you are all aware, I'm sure, it was Valentine's Day a couple of days ago. And I know this is definitely a little late, but deal with it. :)
Anyway, I've always had conflicted ideas about the day, and so I thought I'd share them with you. :)
When I found out the origins of Valentine's Day, it became a lot less happy hearts and flowers for me. Valentine's Day commemorates St Valentine of Rome and St Valentine of Terni, both whom were martyred during the Roman Empire. The two were Christian and were executed for practicing Christianity and trying to convert others to their faith, instead of the Roman's paganism.
Legends of include that 'St Valentine was a priest of Rome who was imprisoned for succouring persecuted Christians' (from the Dictionary of Christianity) and that he was personally interrogted by Emperor Claudius II. The emperor reportedly took a shine to the saint and tried to convert him to paganism while St Valentine tried to convert him to Christianity. The emperor then had him executed. However, before his execution, he reportedly healed the blind daughter of his jailer, causing the family to convert to Christianity. So, it's a little maudlin, I think.
Anyway, now, the whole thing has been commercialised and the whole idea of the day is to send stuff to your special someone and shower them in gifts and flowers and send them little cards.
This is the bit that I start getting conflicted about. On one hand, I am all for love. I love love and telling people you love them and a day just to celebrate love sounds awesome. However, so much of the emphasis of Valentine's Day and the way that it is marketed is geared towards romantic love, which I don't love. For me, it just fuels the whole idea that romantic love is the only real 'true' love there is, which I kind of really hate (I wrote a little bit on this topic in a previous post here). They is also so much pressure and expectation on getting yourself 'a valentine' - whatever the hell that means. I just don't like it.
But, this Valentine's Day, I got an enormous amount of Valentines. I'm talking, like, 15ish. I know, I know, don't look so surprised (although my friends certainly were!). No, there weren't romantically intended Valentines, they were all from my sister. They were everywhere - she hid them in my teacup, one of my textbooks, my shoes, on my bedside table, around my moisturiser, and every time I found another, it lifted my day just that little more.
That, for me, is what Valentine's Day should be all about. It made me laugh and laugh, but I still knew she was thinking of me. I didn't have 'a Valentine' but I still had a nice day. I knew people loved me, but it was nice to be reminded of it. And no, it wasn't romantic love, but it's real and it's strong and it's just as valid as romantic love. What do you think? Do you agree, disagree, hate the day all together? Let me know down in the comments and have a lovely day everybody.
So, as you are all aware, I'm sure, it was Valentine's Day a couple of days ago. And I know this is definitely a little late, but deal with it. :)
Anyway, I've always had conflicted ideas about the day, and so I thought I'd share them with you. :)
When I found out the origins of Valentine's Day, it became a lot less happy hearts and flowers for me. Valentine's Day commemorates St Valentine of Rome and St Valentine of Terni, both whom were martyred during the Roman Empire. The two were Christian and were executed for practicing Christianity and trying to convert others to their faith, instead of the Roman's paganism.
 |
| Source here |
Legends of include that 'St Valentine was a priest of Rome who was imprisoned for succouring persecuted Christians' (from the Dictionary of Christianity) and that he was personally interrogted by Emperor Claudius II. The emperor reportedly took a shine to the saint and tried to convert him to paganism while St Valentine tried to convert him to Christianity. The emperor then had him executed. However, before his execution, he reportedly healed the blind daughter of his jailer, causing the family to convert to Christianity. So, it's a little maudlin, I think.
Anyway, now, the whole thing has been commercialised and the whole idea of the day is to send stuff to your special someone and shower them in gifts and flowers and send them little cards.
 |
| Source here. And I just realised they spelt Valentine's wrong, oh well. |
This is the bit that I start getting conflicted about. On one hand, I am all for love. I love love and telling people you love them and a day just to celebrate love sounds awesome. However, so much of the emphasis of Valentine's Day and the way that it is marketed is geared towards romantic love, which I don't love. For me, it just fuels the whole idea that romantic love is the only real 'true' love there is, which I kind of really hate (I wrote a little bit on this topic in a previous post here). They is also so much pressure and expectation on getting yourself 'a valentine' - whatever the hell that means. I just don't like it.
But, this Valentine's Day, I got an enormous amount of Valentines. I'm talking, like, 15ish. I know, I know, don't look so surprised (although my friends certainly were!). No, there weren't romantically intended Valentines, they were all from my sister. They were everywhere - she hid them in my teacup, one of my textbooks, my shoes, on my bedside table, around my moisturiser, and every time I found another, it lifted my day just that little more.
That, for me, is what Valentine's Day should be all about. It made me laugh and laugh, but I still knew she was thinking of me. I didn't have 'a Valentine' but I still had a nice day. I knew people loved me, but it was nice to be reminded of it. And no, it wasn't romantic love, but it's real and it's strong and it's just as valid as romantic love. What do you think? Do you agree, disagree, hate the day all together? Let me know down in the comments and have a lovely day everybody.
No comments :
Post a Comment
Getting, reading and replying to your comments make my day, so please go and and tell me your thoughts.