The Fourteenth Day of the Second Month of Every Year

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Modern times have turned perfectly legitimate holidays into days promoting materialism. Christmas is about Santa and getting presents, Easter about waiting for a magical bunny to bring you something, Halloween about begging people for candy, even Memorial Day has been changed from their original purposes to mattress sales. People’s obsession with nothing but stuff has distorted the point of holidays.
I believe the most common of these days is a day where affection toward others is celebrated on the fourteenth day of the second month of every year. This day has been celebrated regularly since the 19th century, when the purpose was to be with the one you care about. Today, this “holiday” is about getting that ring or the big box of chocolates. People are beginning to judge the amount of affection one has towards them on what presents that person gives them. But the problem is, you can’t tell how much someone cares about you from a ring. A ring can’t show affection toward you the way a person can.
Women today seem to think that if their boyfriend doesn’t take them to some fancy restaurant and propose to them where everyone can see than their boyfriend doesn’t care about them. But to me, that seems like the most impersonal way to show the depth of your affection to someone. To be able to truly see how someone feels about you, you only need to listen to the words they say to you. Or the looks they give you. Most people just ignore the small things when those are what mean the most. If you feel that you can trust someone enough to open your emotions to them, you should be able to see past the material things.
The busy life style that is today has altered the early simplicity that was a day about trust and true love. Now, the fourteenth day of the second month of every year has turned into another greeting card company holiday that revolves around false affection and materialism.