Why Valentines Day Has Lost The Romance?

So Valentine’s day strikes again!  For some, Valentine’s day conjures up images of love hearts and flowers, with chubby little cupids flying overheard spreading love. But....

For this cynic, it brings only images of commercialisation and tacky tokens of affection that to be honest I think we could all do without.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for love and expressing it, (and gifts are always good!) but should we really only give gifts to show our love on one assigned day of the year?

I think it would be better if the act of showing your ‘valentine’ that you love and appreciate them was done spontaneously and in your own way rather than on a set day with overpriced mass produced cards and gifts.  Throughout history, Valentine’s Day has been celebrated all over the world, starting with people sending hand written cards and simple tokens of their affection, and this is the basic but lovely roots that we should aspire to get back to.  Instead of hand written love notes, now we get mass produced cheesy cards, with no personal touches.

I’m not saying that everyone has to become Shakespeare and write love poems, but surely declaring your love for someone should be personalised?  The simple gestures count for much more than over priced trinkets, and instead of making Valentines Day resemble a competition to see who can spend the most, it should be about romance and love.  If we have to have one day where we declare our love for that special someone, at least let that day be about love rather than letting the amount of appreciation you show them be dependant on how much someone has spent on you.

NATALIE CARLIN