Just So You Know, Valentine’s Day Is Not About Chocolate-Covered Strawberries

-Bea C. Pilotin

I don’t like Valentine’s Day. Well, everyone’s different, but for me, it is not something I should have to celebrate with someone. It’s not all about roses, Godiva chocolates and probably not even a Hallmark card for that matter.

NO.

It’s not because I don’t have someone to celebrate with but because I don’t believe that it is the holiday for love- the day to celebrate with a significant other. It is not a way to test someone’s love or whatever it is.

Ironically, the history of Valentine’s Day isn’t that exactly romantic. It was just popularized by Shakespeare, with these lines in Hamlet spoken by Ophelia:

“To-morrow is Saint Valentine’s day,
All in the morning bedtime,
And I a maid at your window,
To be your Valentine…”

And by the 18th century, the giving of gifts and exchanging of cards made of lace and ribbon had become commonplace in England. In 19th century, the custom spread in throughout the English-speaking world, and, in the late 20th century, well beyond. As the time went on, writers and poets made this day a bit sweeter by romanticizing it in their work, resulting in the creation of handmade paper cards.

So, for your information, the origin of Valentine’s Day has nothing to do with love, Sweethearts.

No chocolate-covered strawberries please.

Valentine’s Day is not important- you are. It’s not real- you are. February 14 will pass even when you are happily-in-a-relationship with someone.