I was listening to the radio this morning, and the radio personalities were discussing Valentine’s Day; is the holiday a mutual celebration between both women and men, or is it solely based on the needs/wants of the woman? (I can all ready sense we are going to get a lot of discussion out of this topic.)
From where I sit, it seems to be a holiday for the ladies. But that’s just my male perspective. Logically, a man would want to do something nice for the woman in his life. Couple that with the fact that the holiday centers around the cutesiness of couples, flowers, chocolates, a romantic candle-lit evening… makes sense, doesn’t it?
So… we are going to have a poll.
…and as always, I welcome conversation on the blog.
(If your single… I want your thoughts too! It’s also Single’s Awareness Day.)
In S. Korea they celebrate Valentines day the same as Japan. They also have White Day where the boys buy the girls candy.
I personally don’t think that anyone needs a Hallmark-induced day to show someone you love them. It should happen spontaneously, whenever the feeling hits.
That being said… I get Valentine’s presents for everyone (not just my husband). My kids and my mom also get little gifties, as a way of saying thanks for being an important part of my life. Of course, I also get my husband a few things, too.
Most times, he just gets me a beautiful card. Which is just fine by me. Flowers die. Chocolates make me even fatter than I already am!
What’s more important is that he does things for me, every single day, that make me know for sure that his love for me is always there. That, to me, is better than any store-bought gift out there.
I hope love surrounded you today, in some way, shape, or form.
C.
My husband and I have been married for 26 years. We don’t do Valentine’s day either. We believe that you should tell each other everyday that you love each other. But my husband does write me a sweet poem every year.
Here is the one he wrote me last year.
To My Wife On Valentines Day
We’ve been together for many years,
Had a lot of laughs and some tears.
We had times we couldn’t afford to eat,
But by working together, those times we beat,
And the times our friends and pets have gone,
Our love for each other made us strong,
When I sit and ponder for a while,
I think of our past and it makes me smile,
So what I really want to say,
I wouldn’t want to have done it any other way,
So for this day and Valentines to come,
I make no promises save this one,
That the love that I have for you,
Will grow stronger and ever be true.
Isn’t he sweet?
And yes, I believe that Valentine’s day is more for the woman than the man.
I don’t get roses on Valentine’s day, I wait until they are on sale on the 15th, and then buy all the lavender roses I can find!
Terry(the female dog trainer)
HOPE YOUR ALL OK AFTER YOUR CRASH,
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED
Don
You might get a kick out of this one.
I’m from Las Vegas and my husband works for the Paris hotel. They get tickets for the shows that are owned by the Harrah’s corp. So he tells me that he has tickets for the Donny and Marie show…..I thought how sweet! Well as the evening goes on he throws in that’s your Valentine present…I interrupted him and said no way…. (no offense to your Dad and Aunt)
But I want a box of chocolates and flowers…Just like the rest of the girls.
So with that, I agree with you. It is for the ladies!
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FORGOT TO SAY, THE PICTURES YOU
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Don. This is also the day that people get engaged.
I have notice that the two main days to get engaged are New Year’s and Valentine’s Day. My best friend got engaged on Valentine and another friend of mines got engaged on New Year’s. My best friend was soo happy when I saw her the next day at school.
So I guess it can also be a special day for boyfriend and girlfriend if your boyfriend wants to pop the question during a romantic dinner on Valentine’s.
Personally – I think that the retailers have taken the commericialization of most special days / celebrations and turned them into a crass happening that is over hyped and under appreciated.
The first Valentine’s Day that my then boyfriend (now hubby) and I shared was so much fun!
We both took out these random classified ads in our local paper with messages only he or I would understand — no it was not planned, we just both happened to do it, after reading someone else’s random classified ad marriage proposal – we both thought the classified ad was really a fun idea.
Our messages to each other were not long, but meaningful in a cute, fun way:
Mine to him was: “CSAA 363 – thank you for rescuing me – please take care of my heart and know that it is yours forever.”
His to me was: “LockedOut 67 – I’ll never leave you stranded; cold, or scared. Keep me forever, and together we’ll be happy.”
It helps to know that I met my husband when he rescued my friend and I when she locked her keys in the car one night. Russ was the AAA tow driver who came to our rescue. I thought he was adorable, and a few weeks later – conjured a chance to have a conversation with him by again locking my keys in the car…
In the years since those classified ads we have come to enjoy even more simple traditions between the two of us to celebrate Valentine’s Day:
A hand made card tucked into a brown bag lunch,
A heart framing the words “I love You” drawn into the steamed up mirror in the bathroom.
A note taped to the steering wheel.
A walk around the block – no dogs, no kids, just the two of us.
I do think the retailers guilt men into spoiling women during Valentine’s Day.
And, I think the retailers have managed to convince more than their fair share of people that you can’t prove the depth of your love for someone with out the right sized gemstone, the perfect flowers, and the best dinner at the fanciest place with the worlds most over-blown prices
Why should there be any one day that we have to profess and prove our emotions and feelings for any one??
Why is the female in the relationship more entitled to being cherished and spoiled, showered with gifts and tangible “proof” of the man’s love?
And – why isn’t there a celebration day that focuses on me being able to spoil my husband?
Oh wait! I do that all the time anyway…. Enduring love is not just for Valentine’s – it is for all days.
Sorry Don — I kind of let me soap box moment bubble over ….
I did not see the poll. I have been married for 15 1/2 years, all I want is a nice (not expensive) bouquet of flowers and if I am off work, which I am this year, to go to dinner. A couple of years, Hubby took me to very nice steak houses, one year Del Frisco and the next year Morton’s, we both decided they were not really worth all the extra money. We both like Kobe Japanese Steak House and I told him that is where I would like to go this year. I think I finally got him to understand, he does not have to buy me anything especially just to be buying me something. I usually get him a book, he likes to read. However we see this as a time to do something together as a couple, we go eat somewhere that we only go to once in a while so that makes it special.
Valentine’s Day is for the “hopeless romantics” and everyone else grants them this one day to be as sappy as they want. Funny thing is, a “hopeless romantic” is really just someone who doesn’t feel like there’s enough romance in their life already.
Think about it, there’s lots of couples who don’t make a big deal out of Valentine’s Day, and usually they’ll tell you in one way or another that it’s because they’re satisfied with their romance. They may go out to dinner and give each other candy or flowers in honor of the holiday, but they probably do similar things all the time. In contrast, it’s a HUGE day for people who are hoping to make their relationship a little deeper–whether it’s emotional or physical.
I think that’s why Singles Awareness Day comes as such a burn to singles. I don’t know many singles who wouldn’t rather be dating someone they love, and you can’t go out in public on Valentine’s Day without seeing nearly everyone else strenghtening their relationships–even if it is superficial.
WELL WE DONT DO VALENTINES DAY IN OUR HOUSE.ONLY BECAUSE ITS OUR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY ON THE 15TH, SO WE WAIT TILL THEN,
WE GOT MARRIED IN SCOTLAND,AT A PLACE CALLED ”’GRETNA GREEN”’,13YRS AGO,IT HAS FLOWN SO FAST.
I HAVE NEVER REALLY BEEN INTO VALENTINES DAY, BECAUSE THE WAY I SEE IT, YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE ONE DAY,JUST TO BE ROMANTIC,IT SHOULD BE EVERY DAY,
I DONT MEAN CHOCOLATES AND FLOWERS EVERYDAY,JUST TELLING EACH OTHER EVERYDAY,THAT YOU LOVE THEM,ECT, ECT.
SO TOMORROW IT WILL BE LIKE A FLORIST, YET AGAIN IN MY HOUSE,MY HUBBY EVEN BUYS THE GIRLS FLOWERS AND CHOCOLATES,BECAUSE HES SAYS THEY AS WELL AS ME ARE THE REASON HE GETS UP IN A MORNING,AND THE REASON HE LOVES LIFE.
THE POOR MAN HAS DEFO LOST THE PLOT. LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
ARE YOU GOING TO GET ANY VALENTINES THIS YEAR DON,LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
I’m single too. I don’t let Valentine’s Day get to me. I always buy a bag of candy hearts for myself.
Thinking about having a movie night with my two boys on Saturday.
The last time I checked, you were in the same boat as being single. LOL
It does make sense, Don. The male to wants to give their love one something special and also something big. Big balloon, dozens of roses and lot of chocolates. We want ALL of that.
But than again. Well, Don. Since I don’t have a boyfriend or a husband, I usually DON’T get anything for Valentine’s. No candy, no rose or no chocolates. So I’m along on Valentine’s. And if I remembered, this is not a happy day for singles. I know I’m not happy since I don’t get anything.
Well guys the place to live is Japan. Valentine’s day in Japan only men receive anything and it’s only chocolates. Women receive nothing. The tradition in some workplaces also has an ‘obligation’ component, with ‘giri chokoreto’ obligation chocolate. Females workers are obligated to give their male co-workers chocolate! ( No I’m not making this up! A Japanese friend was quite surprised when I told her about St Valentine, she thought Valentine’s day was artificially created by chocolate companies to sell more chocolates!)
Years ago, another artificial celebration day was created “White Day” is March 14th and that day only women receive gifts ( cookies) Though Japanese being thorough in their research have discovered that far fewer women receive anything on White Day than men on Valentine’s Day. My American male co-workers in Japan enthusiastically embraced Japanese Valentine’s Day traditions and sat back and waited for their chocolates. One even kept a list of exactly who gave him chocolates and only those who did received cookies from him a month later!
Oh please, please no more polls. Char keeps giving them to me. She needs to take a poll for everything in her life.
As for Single’s Awareness Day? Hmmmm. Valentines day was named after Saint Valentine. The story goes that he would send notes to the jailer’s daughter, and signed it “From your Valentine”
Go hear it has the story but I don’t know if it is right http://www.pictureframes.co.uk/pages/saint_valentine.htm
This is hmmm….Good morning to you, valentine;
Curl your locks as I do mine —
Two before and three behind.
Good morning to you, valentine.
What? Two before and three behind. Before what and behind what?
Oh well have fun on that day.