| Kirk | Well, both; I don't see how the two are mutually exclusive. I get a little tired of everyone suggesting that their offering would "make a great Valentine's gift", from NPR to casinos... But it is a reminder and opportunity to make a particuarly strong gesture...and if your imagination doesn't come up with some spark, there's always commercial stuff to fall back on... |
| Violet | I think it's nice that we have a day designated for celebrating love. Sure, it's over commercialized... but it is whimsical and entertaining. It reminds people to be romantic. It gives people incentive to take chances on love. There is already too much to be cynical about in the world... politics, war, work, money... let's just enjoy one of life's simple pleasures. :-) |
| sarahsehee | v-day in the states is definitely over-commercialized and it can make people without romantic love sorta depressed. But having a day to celebrate love in general I think is a good idea |
| cryingshame58 | For me and my family we celebrate the love we have for one another not just for romance. When I was a little tike my Daddy and Grandfather always brought me a heart shaped candy box....the one from my Daddy was decorated with red lace and a rose...the one from my Grandfather was much smaller with about five pieces of candy...I always had a hand made Valentine card to give to them and also made one for my Mother, Sister and Grandmother...It taught me that love is a precious gift that comes in different places and grows deeper...When romantic love hits, Valentine's Day can help a love to stop, reflect and show how much you appreciate each other...how is this for sappy? I appreciate each new day, so any holiday is a wonderful celebration for me... |
| Barefoot Bella | Either... it's really what you make it. You can buy into the commercial end of it all if you choose to. The candy, flowers, cheesy little presents are there. Or, as my husband and I are doing this year (as we do every year), we'll be spending a nice quiet night together. Maybe we'll order a pizza and just do what we love most-- spend time together and just be in the moment. I don't think either of us feels we need corny little gifts to show each other our love. |
| Star of David | Here I am ELABORATING! Valentines Day is overrated and commercialised. We all know that. We whine and moan and groan about it endlessly calling it an utter waste of time. Why is there one particular day reserved to celebrate love, many people question, adding that if you love the one you are with, every day is a reason to celebrate. So it is commercialised and the card shops, jewellery shops, gift shops, clothes shops flower shops and 10,000 other shops make bags of money out of it. But stop whining and think about it: would you complain at length if someone who loves you gave you a bunch of lovely roses on this day? Would you not feel lonesome if no one even bothered to say Happy Valentine’s Day? Doesn’t Valentine’s Day still remind you of what is was like with that first valentine, when you still believed in the simplicity and beauty of love without all its inherent problems and issues and bills? Valentine’s Day could be beautiful if you let it. More appropriate than putting down the day every chance you get would be to make the choice - to enjoy or not, you decide. It is our choice whether we allow it to be over commercialised or take is as a chance to share love. So what if you don’t have someone to share your love with? So what if the one you love is in love with someone else? Celebrate love! Celebrate it with your buddies - they definitely deserve your love! So what if you didn’t get flowers? Give flowers! Turn this day into one where you make someone else smile and spread some love. That would definitely make it worthwhile. Whining about Valentine’s Day is an absolute waste of time. The fact that it is so popular and the shops earn bags of money means it is extremely popular and will not just go away. So why not add to the feeling of love in the air and give a little love to someone else? Some people actually enjoy Valentine’s Day. For those who find it hard to be romantic on a daily basis, this day offers them the opportunity to let go and do things they usually refrain from doing. It lets them show love without being embarrassed - ’tis Valentine’s Day after all! You don’t have to buy anything for anyone on this day. Some people enjoy buying things for their loved ones and some people don’t. There is no rule that you have to give something to the one you love. But show them a little extra love, what would it hurt? Smile a little wider, spread a little valentine cheer! No matter what, Valentine’s Day makes people stop and think about how much they appreciate and love the one they are with. Whatever said and done, on Valentine’s Day it is still nice to have a little extra attention. Valentine’s Day brings out the romantic in people and on this day guys who would rather be dead than be romantic are emboldened to do all kinds of soppy things. This is one day that is impossible to forget. Card shops and flower shops have record sales in aid of this day and everywhere you look, hearts and flowers are springing up. Décor in shops revolves around the colour red and hearts and every other commercial on TV is about love. Wherever you look, you are reminded about Valentine’s Day. Wouldn’t it be a shame to let this tradition die? True, love is something that should be shown and expressed every single day, not just on one specific day but this particular day gives us a chance to go slightly overboard and have fun. Why ever not? Christmas is over commercialised but that does not mean we stop celebrating that special day. So why not just stop picking on Valentine’s Day and choose to celebrate? Go on, have a great Valentine’s Day! ;) |
| Jon | I always felt that V-Day was a good way for the macho men who are too "tough" to express their love everyday was a good way for them to be chessy, even if for only one day. Yes, it's a shame that the only day for these men to be romantic and not feel any less of a man is reserved for one day but hey at least it's something right? |
| aparajita | vday is over commercialized in my humble opinion. sure, it is nice to receive flowers and such (at least i think i remember how that feels). but, to me, the best and most cherished sentiments are the ones that come for no reason whatsoever. a 'just because' bouquet that is sent at random in the year has got to be the loveliest. i agree with jon, for those in relationships, if done for the right reasons and NOT out of obligation because of the day it is... vday can be a wonderful way to enhance romance. the trouble is that with all long term relationships vday becomes as much an obligation instead of a reason to celebrate. too bad really. |