Valentines Day Is Over

Introduction

This is just a general thing about how Valentine’s Day fifty years ago was so much creepier than the current corporate “romance” fest that it has become today. I am not been curmudgeonly about this but if you go into a card shop there are cards for loads of made-up occasions, one for every family member and lots more as well as genuine occasions like birthdays, religious occasions and such. Cards are nice to receive but the plethora we have now is ridiculous and often I just get a blank card for an occasion, although someone was recently shocked that I actually bought, wrote and hand-delivered a card to a close friend.

Origins Of Valentine’s Day

While the European folk traditions connected with Saint Valentine and St. Valentine's Day have become marginalised by modern customs connecting the day with romantic love, there are still some connections with the advent of spring.

While the custom of sending cards, flowers, chocolates and other gifts originated in the UK, Valentine's Day still remains connected with various regional customs in England. In Norfolk, a character called 'Jack' Valentine knocks on the rear door of houses leaving sweets and presents for children. Although he was leaving treats, many children were scared of this mystical person.

You can read a lot more about the origins on the Wikipedia page below that I took the above text from.

Valentine’s Day In My Youth (Fifty Or So Years Back)

In my youth a Valentine’s Day card was sent from an unknown admirer, although I sent one or two, I have never received a Valentine's card from an unknown admirer, probably for good reason.

In my youth that was the done thing, although usually, people did know who the card had come from.

The thing is today sending an unsigned card could be seen as akin to creepy stalking.

Time and attitudes have certainly changed, and for the better. I do feel it is sad that we have to be on our guard against potential predators, but the rise of social media and the world wide web has opened up so many options for bad people to track and stalk vulnerable people.

I honestly cannot say what the answer is. I get requests and emails on a daily basis that I delete and block because they are obviously decidedly untrustworthy. Even some who start off fine, then deteriorate and again you have to block yourself off to protect yourself from predators like this.

Maybe we were more trusting in the sixties and seventies, but it was a time when racism and misogyny were the norm, and I look back horrified at those situations, which we are very slowly addressing today and will hopefully one day overcome.

Valentine’s Day Today

Today I just see Valentine's day as another commercial money-grabbing attempt. It really means nothing. If you love someone you should show that every day, and not just when some commercial event demands that you spend money on things that will last for a day and then disappear.

If the person you love loves flowers, buy them flowers when you see some pretty ones, if they love chocolate buy them some chocolates. Make them a meal or take them to a restaurant. You can do this any day of the week, any time of the year.

Will I be sending Valentine's cards? Not to anyone who doesn’t know me and certainly not anonymously.

If you celebrate Valentine’s Day, enjoy it in your own way and don't let my observations put you off.

The music is “Valentine’s Day Is Over” by Billy Bragg.