Valentine’s Day Mishap

Valentine’s Day is just SO WRONG.

            But hey, don’t misjudge me, people. I may have been... well... single since birth but I totally have nothing against the holiday. Yeah, nothing at all. Anyway, being single is fine—especially if you are still a young chap struggling to have a good life. That said, however, there is also nothing wrong in—simply put—celebrating love. That’s what’s Valentine’s Day is all about, right? Love, love and that sticky, mushy, wet, moist and warm that’s called (my God, you guessed it right!) love.

            As I’ve said before Valentine’s is just wrong. And I stand by what I’ve said. But before you click that exit button of your browser or just simply get out of the blog because of frustration towards my sentiment I suggest you hear me—or in this case—read first.

            First of all, ever wondered why Valentine’s Day is called as such? Ever wondered what a Valentine is? I’ve asked a lot of people in our neighborhood about this—from your regular wet market vendors to the hardcore drunkards always found half-naked in the streets to even professionals. And the sad truth—almost all of them concur to only two answers: 1.) “Isn’t he that fat baby wielding a bow and arrow?” and 2.) “I really don’t know.”

          I almost laughed. Valentine, my dear people, is a Catholic saint who died a martyr under Claudius II of Rome after refusing to renounce his faith. Valentine’s day was “created” as his feast day celebrating his being the patron of love, young people, and happy marriages. To know more about him, please go to www.catholic.org.

            But lo, and behold, has anyone seen the most popular symbology used for this holiday? Has anyone ever questioned why in the name of love was Cupid ever chosen to represent Valentine’s day?

            This, my dear readers is a very nasty inconsistency—the explanation of which eluded my grasp. First of all, Cupid is the Roman god of erotic love—or, in other words, a Pagan god of lust. This is rather absurd and mystifying at the same time: Catholics throughout history have a reputation of harboring great disdain towards Pagans. The reason why Cupid is used as the main symbol of Valentine’s is just simply out of the question.

            Second—seriously people, can you see Cupid as a Valentine-symbol-material? Because it is really hard to be romantic thinking about a chubby toddler coming at you while brandishing a deadly weapon (that is, if you’re not a pedophile). He’s really not cut out for the holiday—not something we all had in mind. But perhaps... Cupid’s baby form is, after all, only a warning of the potential harmful byproducts of romance.

            The original form of Cupid was a boyish-faced man with a physique to die for. He was often portrayed in bed with his lover, Psyche, a voluptuous Roman goddess. The baby form Cupid just rose to existence in later centuries. And although the logic of growing is starting out small to getting bigger, the evolution of Cupid from being a man to a snot-nosed toddler left by his parents to play with dangerous toys was way beyond even Einstein himself but there you go.     

      

            The third and the most wrong I’ve noticed about Valentine’s Day is its existence itself. The point of celebrating Valentine’s Day is just it—IT is just a day. One day to celebrate love and the next day, people can go hating each other once again as if nothing ever really happened. It’s just like Christmas in every respect—one measly day for corporate bastards, land-grabbers, political swines, and religious demons to get all generous and put on that foolish act of giving just so people could say that they do give. But the day after the festivities are done and the holiday has reached its terminus, they could once again resume stealing your money, grabbing lands that are not theirs, oppressing people, and tell anyone who could hear of goodness that they never did frigging practice!

            This, I think, is why the world is itself today. We were all given only one day to celebrate love, one day to celebrate generosity when in fact, we could celebrate them everyday—holiday or no holiday. Just imagine the festivities and generosity shown by people if everyday is like Christmas but there is no Christmas at all. Imagine the love in the air everyday if everyday is like Valentine’s but Valentine’s Day does not even exist. I know it may sound idealistic to the point of ridiculous but just imagine and, maybe like me, you would just say “why not?” ###