The irony of Valentine’s Day

14 Feb, 2016 - 00:02 0 Views
The irony of Valentine’s Day

The Sunday News

valentine's gift

Peter Matika, Senior Life Reporter
IF figuring out what women want this Valentine’’s Day is tough, figuring out what men want may be even tougher.

After all, contrary to popular belief, Valentine’s Day isn’t only about the ladies.

So today is Valentine’s Day and traditionally it’s the women’s turn to pamper men. Or so we think . . . Some women have openly declared that Valentine’s Day isn’t about men but it’s about lavishing love on women. So for the few hopeless romantic men better luck next time and bear in mind that’s in the next four years!

Sunday Life this past week took the time to get different views from both men and women about what they thought about Valentine’s Day, and most of the responses, particularly from women were as quaky as they came!

“Men have been acting like helpless damsels in distress for the greater part of the year, expecting women to pick up the slack. It’s not too much to expect one day of total goddess treatment,” said one lady who identified herself as Thoko, who sternly believes that men should pamper women all the time, even when it’s their turn to do so.

One rather radical lady who preferred not to be named said she has been single for most of her life, and this year as she turns 30 she had finally found a man and her expectations are high!

“I spent most of my adulthood single. I judged my friends in long-term relationships who had high expectations for the holiday. This year I have a boyfriend, and my expectations are sky high. I expect a five star-dinner all accompanied with roses, lingerie, chocolates and jewellery. In my teen years I did experience a few dopey Valentine’s Days but this year I want the real deal,” she said.

14 February is characterised with chocolates, candy hearts and generic cards, which constitute to the yearly resurrection of the high-maintenance girlfriend trope on Valentine’s Day.

“Women that care about a fancy Valentine’s Day are just superficial, demanding and most of all not caring, considering the economic situation. Also it’s their turn, why don’t they want to rise up to the occasion? After all it’s their turn and not the men’s,” said one Fungai.

While most of the men are yearning to be pampered and showered with gifts today, it would appear that the woman who doesn’t care about candy hearts and extravagant gestures is the ideal lady every man is seeking.

“We all know that Valentine’s Day is a holiday engineered for conspicuous consumption,” added Fungai.

Most men think Valentine’s Day is a total racket and believe that they are most likely not to get a gift but will give a gift out of obligation than women.

“Whether we like it or not, men are going to shower women with gifts, women won’t go out of their way to pamper men. All they do is want, take and demand,” said Tawanda.

With that in mind some women said it wasn’t that they didn’t want to give their loved ones gifts but it was because they had no income to get the gifts in the first place.

One lady admitted that she demanded gifts from her boyfriend because she was somewhat envious of how other women are treated by their Valentine.

According to myth Valentine’s Day, also known as Saint Valentine’s Day, is a celebration observed on 14 February each year.

It is celebrated in many countries around the world, although it is not a public holiday in most of them.

Valentine’s Day began as a liturgical celebration of one or more early Christian saints named Valentinus.

Several martyrdom stories were invented for the various Valentines that belonged to 14 February and added to later metrologies. A popular account of Saint Valentine of Rome, states that he was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians, who were persecuted under the Roman Empire.

According to the legend, during his imprisonment, he healed the daughter of his jailer, Asterius. An embellishment to this story states that before his execution he wrote her a letter signed “Your Valentine” as a farewell.

Valentine’s Day symbols that are used today include the heart-shaped outline, doves and the figure of the winged cupid.

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