Did you know that the first Valentine’s Day was celebrated in 496?
Initially, a pagan Roman holiday, heralding the start of spring, at some point, Christians morphed it into a celebration for St. Valentine.
Which St. Valentine, you ask? I don’t know because it’s not the subject of this blog, and I didn’t care enough to delve deeper. If you do, ask Google. It can answer all your St. Valentine’s questions.
I believed Valentine’s day was a holiday started by greeting card companies to make up for the consumerism lull between the December holidays and summer. I’m not alone in this belief because so many of us feel a tad ho-hum about the contrived, giving and receiving of the same chocolates, roses, and pre-written cards, penned by a stranger, year after year.
Give your love interest a Zing!
Your loved one wants that “zing” similar to when a cartoon pun showed up on their desk in grade school.
It was a miniature symbol of recognition that made them feel like the center of the universe. Are you sick of the same old same old? Yes, you say, but what’s a person to do? Below is a short list to get your creative juices flowing and help you think outside the accursed heart-shaped box.
1. Go on a picnic
If you wish to take it outdoors, make sure you have a way to keep it hot during these colder months:
Fire pits, charcoal hand and toe warmers, thick flannel bedding, and seating that encourages cuddling. Drink hot chocolate, roast marshmallows, and watch the real and euphemistic sparks fly!
Picnics need not be outside
Maybe the outdoors in cold weather sounds like torture no matter who will be snuggling up close to your side. No problem.
No law states picnics need to be outside. Spread out a tablecloth on the living room floor, hold the ends down with flameless candles, and unpack a satisfying meal of lemonade, fried chicken, and potato salad. Turn down the lights, play music thick with the sound of summer: cicadas, waves, and gulls, and let the summer vibe work its magic.
2. Buy the flowers they love
Just as there is no law against indoor picnics, you don’t have to stick to roses.
Does the person you wish to please covet them as much as conditioning makes us believe? I favor a handful of fresh-picked violets (weeds, really) or white and yellow daisies, especially those that grow wild on a mountainside. Since it’s winter here in the US, these aren’t viable options, but you get the picture. If the preference of your love is available, drop the roses.
Permission to drop the roses!
3. Make your own card
Forget the sappy sayings of a stranger. Where’s the sentiment? It likely resides in your heart, a soliloquy struggling for release!
Sit, take five minutes, and jot down how much your loved one means to you.
Let the words flow, regardless if they sound lyrical like a Shakespearean sonnet or guttural like your neighbor’s sputtering car engine when he sets off for work every morning with the sunrise.
Make it authentic
If you celebrate Valentine’s Day this February 14th, make it authentic.
Use the tried and true if that’s your thing, or use a recommendation here. Better still, come up with an idea unique to you and that special someone.
Be well, and Happy Valentine’s Day!
xoxoxo
Kathleen