Two short paragraphs on why this day might be considered good or bad…

A Good Thing

Romance and Love are surely good things, and so too must be any day that celebrates them! True, you should not need a specific day to express your feelings towards your partner, but it is often nice to have an extra excuse, a day that all can recognise and fit into possibly busy and stressful schedules.

It shouldn’t be, but it is often hard to self-create a romantic atmosphere or perform a loving gesture (a candlelit meal, a weekend escape, a soppy poem) out of thin air, and Valentine’s Day provides exactly the sort of push needed in many cases. The special gifts you provide, the extra attention you pay… would you behave the same on any normal Saturday; on every normal Saturday? You should, of course; but you probably don’t. So why not make a special effort on a day when so many couples will be celebrating their joy?

A Bad Thing

The added pressures placed upon you if you are fortunate enough to have a special someone. The terrible depression you will feel if you do not have a partner, particularly if you have recently come out of a relationship.

You could be the best guy (or girl) in the world on January 14th, and it would be noted only as being “nice”. But dare you overlook the slightest thing on February 14th and your life is not worth a penny!

Somehow you must find time to buy a rose, a box of chocolates, conceive an “original” non-cliched act or poem to mark this wonderful occasion! Easy right? Well it might sound so, but think if you work sixty hours a week and have to travel two hours to and from work: where does the time come from? Plus, do not forget that all must be accomplished in the deepest secrecy, no hint of your plans must be revealed otherwise you will have failed and it would have been better had you tried nothing at all!

Not to mention trying to express your emotions in an original way! Love may be unique and specific to each person, but humanity is seriously running out of original ways to express it! Even the master poets and philosophers struggle now to find new ways to say “I love you”… what hope have the rest of us!

Why is this? Well, because nobody can hope to truly express their feelings on a slip of card. If you could you would either be an extraordinary poet, or a sickeningly shallow person (perhaps both!). Think about it: would you really want to be able to capture the entirety of your love on a dry piece of inanimate two-dimensional cardboard? It would be a boring and limited love indeed, no matter how advanced your mastery of words! Instead we force ouselves to do the best we can, to struggle against the cold sweat of our own futility! 

Cynical am I… perhaps; but what is actually special about this day in particular? Nothing! Sure, the card companies do pretty well, as does Cadbury’s and most florists… but would it not be better to celebrate a day that means something? A birthday, an anniversary, even the date you decided to give up on the propagandised capitalist-spawned corporate revenue generating February 14th!

Of course, if you are fortunate enough to have been born on Valentine’s Day and to share the same birthday as your partner, as well as having first met in Venice on February 14th, then possibility this date would hold a special significance for you…

Alas, the “Bad” section is longer than the “Good” section! This is not because I actually believe Valentine’s Day to be a bad thing, just that it is far quicker to write: “Love is good and any day that makes a note of this must be good too…”, which is a statement closer to my own feelings on the matter.

As far as I myself am concerned, Valentine’s Day is as good or as bad as you care to make it! There is no special reason why you should celebrate it, but nor is there any reason why you shouldn’t.

Having said that, you shouldn’t celebrate Valentine’s Day just because it is Valentine’s Day; rather, you should celebrate it because you love your partner.