Just something interesting I heard from a friend...
"14th February, a day to suck lovers' blood dry."
If you go back and think about it, that statement does make sense. In my opinion, the contemporary Valentine's Day has had its original meaning, somewhat tainted. In the past, lovers used to write... Well... love notes... To each other, maybe with a bouquet of flowers, and some handmade confectionery. It was a simple affair, sincere, and close to the heart. Now, it is but a commercialised and overhyped event. Unscrupulous merchants make use of this day to viciously mark up the prices of their merchandise, anything ranging from confectionery, to flowers, to V-day cards. Everything's over-priced, on V-day. Even a plain, not-so-eye-catching rose can cost you anywhere from $15 to $20 a stalk. It's the day where all the posh restaurants are full house, with a mile-long queue of patrons. You wouldn't even be able to get a table if you didn't make a reservation a few days in advance. Okay, I exaggerate. But the main point, is that, such a romantic day, being exploited to such an extent... Just thinking about it, makes me sick.
V-day is the time of the year, where the ladies expect the guys to spend a little more time, money, and, more importantly, shower a little more love on them. Most people would probably think that nothing's wrong with it, V-day comes only once in a year, anyway. Some people actually have a misconception that the more money you spend on V-day, the more evident your love is for the significant other. However, I think it's the thought that counts. I'm sure any significant other would appreciate what his/her partner has done for him/her, no matter how insignificant the cost.
I think too much emphasis is placed on V-day itself. Any other day can be V-day, as long as love exists between a couple. I mean, why wait for V-day to express your love for the other party? You can easily say those 3 words to your loved one(s) any day of the year. That, I think, is much more romantic, rather than doing it on V-day itself.
Kinda similar, to Father' Day, or Mother's Day, no?
Extras:
This video kinda provides high entertainment value... Haha.
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i so agree with you.
ReplyDeleteproblem is i'm a guy. and it may be just as biased as yours.
some girls might view valentine's day for its aesthetic value. they view sentimentality as something more than a word as compared to us.
we will think about it terms of love has no time line. what matters is that the relationship is operational in terms of love and everyday can be an anniversary or
whatsoever. whereas they will feel that a date is symbolic.
this is why girls are from venus and men are from mars and i'm from saturn.
yea. cant help but to agree with you.
ReplyDeletecant deny that most girls do expect more from guys on vday itself. but maybe its a way to show that the other partner really do care. girls are sensitive beings, you know.
but im sure there are those who go for little care&concern every now and then. its those everyday small sweet actions that count. not just a day. but then again. not all guys can do that. so i guess theres a need for vday.
since theres a vday, why not enjoy. join in the fun. :)) probably a day to show your love, if you havent.
I agree with you for the last part on,
ReplyDelete"I think too much emphasis is placed on V-day itself. Any other day can be V-day, as long as love exists between a couple. I mean, why wait for V-day to express your love for the other party? You can easily say those 3 words to your loved one(s) any day of the year. That, I think, is much more romantic, rather than doing it on V-day itself."
But, have you thought about the fact that if the couples do treat any other day like V-day, there would not be so much chemistry between them anymore. It's because they will just get so sick and tired or doing it and when time passes, they will be doing it just for the sake of doing it, rather than really meaning it, which makes the whole relationship kind of pretentious. If there isn't a difference between the normal days and V-day, we won't be able to see the love. The difference and meaning won't be there once any other day can be considered V-day instead of having V-day itself.
thank you for that very honest comment:)
ReplyDeleteyes! v day has been too commercialised and overrated. afterall, it is supposedly a special occassion. then again, every day could be a valentine's day. oh and you highlighted the 'moolah' word(money). now, if only guys would spend the same amount every single day on their girlfriends. sweet!
coming from a convent school for the past 10 years, valentine's day was always about dates with friends and family. period. even now, the day itself doesn't hold much significance to me. i think it's more about showing the love everyday and not just on valentine's itself.(why must it only be v day itself where people show that 'EXTRA lovey-doveyness'?) i am sure most agree with me.
my view on this issue is similar to you, Lester.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely, Valentine's day is sweet and romantic day to remember or to renew vows of love to each other.
However, how special it is is showed by the efforts for the male, rather than the money poured out for the ocassion- not being stingy of course. I definitely can't agree more on how outrageous a guy has to splurge on valentin's day. Great example on the roses Lester.
It's up to a guy to make an ordinary day extraordinary, to make his loved one feels special. There is an added element of surprise and sweetness to it in comparision to V-day, where a girl can almost predict accurately what the guy is going to do.
1) Movie
2) Extravagent or may prefer a cosy dinner
3) Nowadays, Singapore Flyer
4) Roses
5) a Present
6) love note
A guy can pull off all the above and the girl can already have all these in mind. Expectations that are set beforehand.
There is no need for a Valentine to show your love. Love can be showed everyday.
With regards to the topic at hand..
ReplyDeleteI must agree with you lester because Vday has indeed been hyped up as the one most important day of the lover's calender where its time to shine with yr hearts(wallets/purses too) for yr mates.
Although its not right to be spending for love per se, i also cannot say its wrong to be doing so. Love btw 2 people is immeasurable, unmaterialistic and sometimes unfathomable. As such, it wont be wrong to buy a gift and be extra romantic for the day! Personally, i think it'd be quite sad if my girlfriend was the onli 1 unable to celebrate(bad me).
Joining in the hype aint all a bad thing either economically speaking. Vday might be the day where even "kiam siap" people will go to lengths to get a nice gift for their loved one(s).
In conclusion, dont overdo it. Spend if u must but know that this day is not part of the great singapore sales and that your love and effort will overpower/value any gift in the market.
Power to the love!
well i can't say i blame the merchants for banking in on V-day because "Love" has always been a huge industry. (perfect example; wedddings. even a simple affair can easily cost thousands of dollars, especially if the bride insists on wearing Vera Wang). money talks. if given the chance that on this particular day in the year, people would still willingly part with their cash for thrice/four times your usual asking price, would you not take it? it would cover your profits for another two, three months at least!
ReplyDeleteand for some reason or another, human beings fall into the marketing trap of Valentine's day EVERY SINGLE YEAR.
and i wonder why that is. sure, prices of things are jacked up 200% on Valentine's. and places ARE crowded, and you are stuck on Mount Faber for a good half an hour in a traffic jam. so why not just buy the flowers and the gifts and everything else when it's NOT Valentine's. when you KNOW that things will not be extortionately priced? when you KNOW that you can have the whole mount faber or bukit timah hill to just you and your other half, to pick acorns if you want?
doesn't the problem all come down to us consumers in the end? i don't take econs, but i'm pretty sure this is just basic demand and supply. we should be looking past the whole bonanza, and asking ourselves just why we allow ourselves to wilingly pay obscene amounts of money for something that probably cost two dollars to make in China (and it wouldn't be surprising if it was too, unfortunately).
so what are we proving, when we splurge on valentine's, the only day in all the 365 days when things are expensive?
that money is no consideration, when it comes to your gf/bf? if it wasn't, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now.
that the amount of money you spend is directly proportionate to how much you feel for the person? then what about couples who spend hundreds of dollars CELEBRATING love on valentine's, and break up three months later?
it's a sad truth, but valentine's has become a popularity contest in schools, and on orchard road, it's a circus act. girs are parading around with bouquets in their hand and smugly pitying their female counterparts who don't have plants so huge and impractical that you have to push it on a trolley.
people say that every day can be Valentine's day. and you don't need to wait for one specific day to show your love. especially when you're showing your love at the same time everybody else is showing theirs. but would you be willing to take the risk? maybe your other half LIKES the valentine's day hype. maybe he/she likes receiving things on Valentine's day, because it is a day, afterall, set aside to show people you love them. maybe it's important to them that you even REMEMBER you're supposed to be in love.
i think Valentine's is just a good way to flaunt it, if you have it. and if you don't have it, then trying to flaunt it would just be two faced and shallow.
i know of guys who live on dustballs for months to scrimp and save on something for their girlfriends on valentine's. seriously, what for? what kind of girl are you dating that she does not understand and accept your financial situation?
if you acually NEED Valentine's to prove your love materially, you just seriously need some deep self reflection on your part.
If your partner requires you to be more materially loving on V'day, and kicks up a fuss when you're not, maybe it's time to re-access whether your ideas of love are still the same?
ReplyDeleteWell, not that I'm in any position to speak my mind on this...but like you mentioned, any day can be V'day with your partner, as long as the love for each other is there.
Besides, how romantic can it be when we have to be told to be romantic on a specific day?
Hope I'm making sense here. :)
I would agree with what Maverick have said about re-accessing whether or not the "ideas of love are still the same".
ReplyDeleteI think the purpose of Vday is not to show extra affection for one another but to remind couples that they have one another by their side and perhaps, give them a reason to have a "special" date apart from their usuals?
I wouldn't say spending "extra" money on this day is wrong, as it can show someone how much they're appreciated by thei partners in a way in the cash they're willing to spend on them. However, when the entire focus of the dates is on the amount of money being spent, it would be a turn-off for guys I guess? They might be wondering if we girls are going after their wealth or their love, right? Nevertheless, I think that this situation differ from individuals at the end of the day. 'cos, if he/she is able to afford it, why not right?
A day of luxury wouldn't harm anyone, would it? :P
I hope I don't sound silly here. Haha. :D
all the comments boils down to 1 simple sentence.
ReplyDeletecheck the contract clauses of your relationship.