“I love you not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you.” – Roy Croft. Before we all start cringing at the mention of the ‘L’ word, let’s remember that love in this context refers to any person or anything that is dear to us.
Now, with the mention of the ‘L’ word, what is the topic that we will be discussing today? That’s right! Valentine’s Day – a day where we celebrate love and recollect precious memories that we have created with our friends, family and close ones. This day was never made just about us – it is the combination of things and efforts from people around us that make the day extra special and meaningful. Of course, for the success of Valentine’s Day, we must never forget the almost compulsory flower bouquets that for this one occasion, has been priced at such an unbelievable amount; the set-menus that restaurants come up with; the Archies and Hallmark stores filled with gifts and cards, and of course, each and every single person who celebrates love.
Different people look at Valentine’s Day differently. Some look at this day as the time to spend time with their loved ones. Some of them use this time to cherish the memories that their loved ones have left behind. Then, there are business people who try to make money out of this significant day. In relative terms, several billion dollars of profit are made by companies across the world during this day. But whatever be the case, the underlying factor that makes this day special is “love”.
But, behind all the flowers, chocolates, Hallmark cards, do we know how this day actually originated? What does this day actually stand for? What are the lessons related to “love” we need to learn from the worldly happenings? Let’s learn together!
The Origin
It is also believed that Emperor Claudius II executed two men named Valentine on Feb 14th of different years in the 3rd century A.C and their martyrdom was honored by the Catholic Church and ever since then, it has been celebrated as “St. Valentine’s Day”.
Do these happenings in any way relate to the modern-day Valentine’s Day that we celebrate? Nope! Well, here’s one more explanation.
As the years went on, this particular day grew sweeter. Shakespeare and Chaucer romanticized it in their work and it started becoming popular throughout Britain and the rest of Europe. Eventually, the tradition made its way to the new world, thanks to Hallmark! Hallmark Cards of Kansas City began mass-producing Valentine’s Day cards and gifts, and February soon became the month of love!
“What is love?”
An article was posted on HuffPost website a couple of years ago titled – “How people of Different Ages Define Love – From 55-years old to 105!”.
“Love” is a word that even the Oxford English Dictionary finds it difficult to explain. But this interaction among people of different age groups will surely help us understand what “love” could possibly be.
The answers given by the people belonging to different age groups were entirely different and are surely going to warm your heart. Some weren’t able to find the right words to describe “love”, but they associated it with family, feeling free and being accepted by their loved ones. A few others said that it meant doing things for other people without expecting anything in return. Refreshingly, no one described love in terms of marriage or about relationships between men and women.
A 7-year old girl said love was all about her family – her dad, mum, her little brother, and the frequent outings her parents used to take her on weekends.
A girl in her mid-twenties explained love as the unconditional feeling you have towards your friend, family or love interest.
A man in his late 50s said “It makes you do the things you never thought you could do. It makes life worth living”.
An 80-year-old man said that he’s been married for 55 years and now he considers love as the care and affection they’ve both had towards each other since they got married and still continue to have so.
As you can see, the definition of “love” differs from person to person. After all, that is the beauty of “love”, isn’t it? 🙂
Love – The only Magic we need
“Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.” On this Valentine’s day, let us learn to love ourselves first. With the recent Coronavirus and all that is happening in our society, we are only made aware of how Singaporeans are trying to out-survive each other. Let us negate this negativity and take good care of our health, before collaborating as one Singapore to overcome this challenging period of time.
Let us start by seeking to understand the feelings of others and caring for the people around us. May this day be one where we leave back enmities and reunite with people with whom we have had misunderstandings with. Let’s spread true-unconditional love and good cheer to the people around us not just this Valentine’s Day but every single day! 🙂
Image-1 taken from https://www.pikrepo.com/
Image-2 taken from https://libreshot.com/
Image-3 taken from https://weheartit.com
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