"Wallet"ine or Valentine?

Well, here’s February 14th again and a fresh mush wave sweeps through cupid struck hearts. Florists and gift shop websites do extra-ordinary business as do “hangout” zones like Barista and Café Coffee Day. Moral “policemen” also have a field day, wrecking havoc - in upscale chill out spots and leaving hearts sundered.

Legend goes that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men -- his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death and fourteenth of February, for long the month of romance, was chosen to “honor” St. Valentine.

I’ve always been skeptical about non-chronology based commemorations – Mother’s day, Father’s day, Valentine’s Day etc. Be it your Dad / Mom / Sweetheart, it is but natural that you share a relationship which is much bigger than just a greeting card and a bunch of flowers. Friends of mine argue that, these days are a way to token your love towards important people in your life.

I feel that, these days try to celebrate relationships which aren’t as simple as saying thank you or giving a bunch of flowers. And in these days of media frenzy, giving a printed greeting card to any of these people is an irony of the highest order. If some greeting card manufacturer is able to give words to your feelings towards somebody, then I feel that either you are cheating yourself that the card captures the essence of your feelings or you are in a totally artificial relationship which isn’t worth continuing. Instead, spending sometime with them on that day is a much better way, as, in these times of “wallet”-happy spending, putting in an effort to spare sometime for a special person is a much more significant thing than those mush-paraphernalia!

I know that I’m going against the popular flow here, but as I always say, I’m entitled to my view!