Countdown of Love, Day 2: Valentine's Haters

Each year, around mid-February, I am astonished at the number of Valentine haters that emerge from whatever hater rock they have been hiding under.

Valentine's Day is stupid.

Valentine's is a holiday made up by greeting card and candy companies to make more money.

Valentine's is just girls' excuse to make guys feel bad about how they show affection.

Whine, whine, whine.  It's the same every year.  And, every year, I ask these haters what hatin' has ever accomplished.

Valentine's Day has historical origins (whether saintly or not). The tradition of sending notes or tender handmade expressions of affection to lovers on February 14th has been going on for hundreds of years, long before Hallmark, Hershey's, or 1800Flowers.com fixed their greedy little eyes on our purses.  Maybe no one knows just exactly why Saint Valentine was martyred, or even if he did anything to help out lovers.  Does it really matter?

The day is what it is.  Fighting against it, when you have a significant other, only makes her feel like you care more about taking a useless stand against an old tradition than you care about her.  Is it really so horrible to be expected to express love on a particular day?

Love shouldn't be work.

I express my love everyday.

 I will express my affections when I want, not on a day when I have to.

Boo hoo.  Anyone who thinks that love isn't work doesn't know anything about love.  If you don't work on love, you certainly won't have to worry about having it for very long.  Expressing your love for another through little deeds and daily affection is also essential; but actual, lasting love requires thought and effort.

Not wanting to celebrate Valentine's day obviously doesn't mean you don't love your partner.  But, it does show that you are either not smart enough to take advantage of a societal built-in way of expressing your love, or that you are a stubborn jerk.

The joy in any holiday comes from the merriment you personally attach to the day.  If you think Valentine's Day is stupid, maybe you are a joyless, bitter cynic.  Or maybe you just don't understand love, and its need for constant work.  Either way, you need to stop hatin'.

Put down the Haterade, and embrace the day.