Where We Went Wrong with Valentine’s Day
Elementary school is where you’re first introduced to the idea of Valentine’s Day with candy, cards, and decorated boxes. Really all anyone cared about was the candy. I’ll give you that. When it comes to the importance of candy and Valentine’s Day we never strayed. But one key area changes as we get older, and we went down the wrong path.
As we get older, the candy gets knocked down to a second tier on February 14th as the card that accompanied the lil Hershey kiss takes the throne.
“[insert some simple yet sweet words]” - Your secret admirer
Ahhhh, yes, the secret admirer.
Who cares about a piece of candy when there is someone who left you a mysterious note.
What makes the secret admirer note so special? Well, this brings us to the point of this column. When secret admirers were entered into our universe, the thrill and excitement of the idea was dissected for decades. It came down to two hypothesizes:
Path 1 - secret admirer is exciting because of the love and romance
Path 2 - secret admirer is fun because of the mystery and puzzle
As a society, we determined it was path 1.
As you hit high school and beyond, the secret admirer goes out the window as it was just a mask for what is deemed love and romance. Then you find your forever Valentine and spend every February 14th stating your love for each other.
WOWOWOWOW
I’ve always held the strong notion that love should be expressed more than February 14th.
“But on the 14th, it’s more than just daily love and affection!”
Okay, yeah but is it genuine or is it out of obligation.
Someone who buys flowers for their partner randomly throughout the year as signs of love forgets on the 14th or passes due to the inflated rose prices and now causes an argument. NOT GOOD!
Let me explain how this became all wrong.
Path 2 was the route we should have taken!
Rather than turn the 14th into a day for love and romance, it should have been centered around mystery and puzzles.
When people got a card from a secret admirer, it wasn’t that someone was interested in you that truly brought the excitement. There are plenty of people who discovered WHO their secret admirier was an suddely lost interest. For whatever reason, they no longer cared that someone was interested in them because it was not who they had hoped for.
The excitement was in the mystery and trying to solve who it could possibly be!
Imagine if February 14th was a day that focused on you and your partner solving a mystery/puzzle together! Not only would it likely be more fun and more relaxed, but it likely would bring you two closer.