So...

[annwfyn]

...having read a lot of heartfelt, well thought through critiques of Valentine's Day, from people who prefer sincere, spontaneous, real gestures of love, who don't like the pressure on people to make these artificial displays of emotion, who don't like the way it ignores a lot of unconventional relationships and forms of love, and who just really find it quite an alienating day, I decided to share my feelings on the day.

I GOT SEVEN VALENTINE'S MESSAGES SAYING I WAS CUTE!

Well, and pierot said he was giving me the Valentine's gift of 'absence' and asked me to not touch him because I was large and scary. So, really, it was win-win all round!

I make special mention of the lines of Gaelic poetry which made me go extra special sparkly inside.

As for the rest of it, I totally get that spontaneous gestures of affection are good. But I'm crap and periodically need to be reminded that I have someone shiny in my life and 'I love you' is a good thing to say. I get that sometimes it's bad to be made to feel lonely, and speaking as someone who has been known to actually take Mother's Day off work in order to not cry in public, I really get how cruel the Hallmark holidays can be. Let's not even go into the way Valentine's Day at school used to make me feel physically sick. It's not easy being the official Ugliest Girl In The World when you're 14 and it's Pretty Girl Day. Still huge bottles of pink champagne everywhere still make me smile.

Comments

[cairmen.livejournal.com]

I've always liked Valentine's Day, even when I was chronically single and far from sought-after. It's good to have a day when romance is recommended.

Whatever form that romance takes. Becca and I went out to get hot chocolate, then went to Waitrose, spent an absurd amount of money on a really nice dinner, and logged on to WoW to laugh at idiots...

[blane-firewing.livejournal.com]

It's not easy being the official Ugliest Girl In The World when you're 14 and it's Pretty Girl Day.


You felt that way as well? I was the girl no one would "touch with a 40 foot barge pole..." It has never helped me like the day any better I must admit.

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I got told that. Regularly. And repeatedly. Valentine's Day was the day when there was usually one joke valentine's card, where everyone would look at me expectantly, and start sniggering at whatever I did. And on about three years I had some guy asking if he could kiss me because he'd lost a bet or something.

I used to hate VDay. I don't know why, but it's just really grown on me as I've gotten older.

[the-grim-squeak.livejournal.com]

I was the ugly fat kid at School. I think I've received 1 proper valentine in forever. But mostly that's just that I've always seemed to be single on Valentines day even when I was chronically not single.

Tis weird, I don't object to the day any more, especially since it got renamed Tim-Appreciation-Day...

[badgersandjam.livejournal.com]

I remembered being barked at when I was walking down the school hallway...

:(

[suave-steve.livejournal.com]

Wasn't really an issue at my school - it being all boys no one commented on anything to do with Valentine's day at all, ever.

[adze.livejournal.com]

Thinking about it, I don't mind the day.

Being perenially single, it sometimes drives that home, but no more than a lot of other days do.

While, in general, I think people should do more romantic things when in relationships, I don't think a day of enforced romance is a bad thing at all.

[richardiii.livejournal.com]

Since getting together with my girlfriend, I've taken it on myself to do amazing incredibly lenghtly planned out displays of affection at every opportunity.

Its working pretty well so far. I appear to be good at the hopeless romatnic thing.

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

I can totally believe that of you.

[richardiii.livejournal.com]

Birthday Present was probabbly my finest moment ever... he said modestly... I'll tell you about it sometime over coffee?

[soullessflyer.livejournal.com]

It's not really related to your post, but I just wanted to say I love your user pic. It's a cracking photo of you. :o)

And Happy Valentine's day.

[colonel-maxim.livejournal.com]

I confess that as a permanently single person, I have absolutely no feelings about the day. It does not affect me personally but I would not deprive others of the joy and entertainment that it brings.

[twicedead.livejournal.com]

Admiral Ackbar said it best when he wrote his in-depth critique of Valentine's day.

"It's a trap."