Google offers a million and one things for singles to do on Valentine’s Day.
The between the lines suggestion is that there is something amiss with being single. The connotations attached to the date, February 14, namely that it encourages being linked to another person in a romantic relationship and emphasises societal stigma against single-hood, is all wrong. There is nothing wrong with not having a romantic partner. On Valentine’s Day or any other day.
Valentine’s Day originates from two stories: the first where men sacrificed a goat and whipped women with the hides of dead animal in the hope of increasing fertility during the Roman festival of Lupercalia and/or the execution of a priest named Valentine by Roman Emperor Claudius on February 14. How it has evolved into today’s version of ‘true love’ is a mystery!
Arguably, the day leaves people in relationships with impossible expectations, pressure to spend tons of cash on flowers, dinners, weekends and gifts, creates masses of plastic waste from trite greeting cards and over-packaged chocolates, and encourages comparison with ‘happy’ couples on social media. It also leaves single people out.
So, if you’re single and choosing not to send out hopeful cards/gifts to prospective partners which more often than not ends in mutual embarrassment, here are 4 options:
Ignore the whole thing. This is totally valid and not hard to do.
Celebrate your meaningful (not necessarily romantic) relationships.
Spring clean ahead of schedule, take a day off from social media, hibernate, treat yourself.
Take it a step further - the USA celebrates what they call Singles Awareness Day on February 15. This is for those who totally despise Valentine’s Day and all of its commercial glory. Adults of all ages celebrate the day as a reminder that you don’t need a relationship to celebrate love. You can love yourself, your family, your friends, your pets - whatever - so why not give a gift to them on February 15.
Whatever you decide, don’t think that your coupled up friends are having a better time of it, or better still call us here at Berkeley International the world’s leading introduction agency [https://www.berkeley-international.com/] and we will help you find your Valentine for 2024.
