Our views on Valentine?s Day have to change

If Valentine’s Day conjures images of chocolate, flowers and couples uncomfortably facing each other under candle light, it may be time for you to redefine the holiday.

Sitcoms, movies and, dare I say it, Twilight have instilled within us that the fate of a relationship hinges on surprise bouquets, gourmet chocolates and long walks in the Montreal slush. Our ideals about love have become skewed. As a result, we begin to feel insecure when our relationships do not follow this “glamorous” trajectory.

Aside from smelling good and tasting delicious, roses and chocolate are poor expressions of love. Unless you prick yourself on the roses’ thorns, or spend the day fighting ninjas for a box of Hershey’s Kisses, it’s unlikely that you put much effort into showing your partner that you’re serious about them.

Don’t go returning the kitschy stuff just yet &- anyone who demands the royal treatment on V-Day holds a misguided view of romance. Real romance is showing Romeo and Juliet who’s boss and ditching the Shakespearean script. After all, there is nothing more insincere than signing a crappy pre-written Hallmark card designed by some 60-year-old man in Oklahoma.

So if Hallmark, a company that profits from the 141 million Valentine’s Day cards exchanged every year, isn’t complaining about the holiday, why should we? Firstly, love that is celebrated one day out of the year is not real love to begin with. We confuse drunk-on-champagne affection with love because we see it everywhere and we all want to have it. We want it like we want a commodity or a prize.

The aim is not to put flower and card shops out of business, but don’t feel compelled to plan an out-of-character Valentine’s Day because of some unwritten romantic protocol. Nothing is more awkward than bringing your girlfriend to the ballet when you’re fully cognisant of the Michael Cammalleri shrine above her bed.

Love is definitely a struggle and, according to Plato, a grave mental disease. Let us mend our ills this Valentine’s Day with a whole “lotta candy, Kama Sutra and showing you’re serious about your relationship by not taking it too seriously.

If Valentine’s Day conjures images of chocolate, flowers and couples uncomfortably facing each other under candle light, it may be time for you to redefine the holiday.

Sitcoms, movies and, dare I say it, Twilight have instilled within us that the fate of a relationship hinges on surprise bouquets, gourmet chocolates and long walks in the Montreal slush. Our ideals about love have become skewed. As a result, we begin to feel insecure when our relationships do not follow this “glamorous” trajectory.

Aside from smelling good and tasting delicious, roses and chocolate are poor expressions of love. Unless you prick yourself on the roses’ thorns, or spend the day fighting ninjas for a box of Hershey’s Kisses, it’s unlikely that you put much effort into showing your partner that you’re serious about them.

Don’t go returning the kitschy stuff just yet &- anyone who demands the royal treatment on V-Day holds a misguided view of romance. Real romance is showing Romeo and Juliet who’s boss and ditching the Shakespearean script. After all, there is nothing more insincere than signing a crappy pre-written Hallmark card designed by some 60-year-old man in Oklahoma.

So if Hallmark, a company that profits from the 141 million Valentine’s Day cards exchanged every year, isn’t complaining about the holiday, why should we? Firstly, love that is celebrated one day out of the year is not real love to begin with. We confuse drunk-on-champagne affection with love because we see it everywhere and we all want to have it. We want it like we want a commodity or a prize.

The aim is not to put flower and card shops out of business, but don’t feel compelled to plan an out-of-character Valentine’s Day because of some unwritten romantic protocol. Nothing is more awkward than bringing your girlfriend to the ballet when you’re fully cognisant of the Michael Cammalleri shrine above her bed.

Love is definitely a struggle and, according to Plato, a grave mental disease. Let us mend our ills this Valentine’s Day with a whole “lotta candy, Kama Sutra and showing you’re serious about your relationship by not taking it too seriously.