Luckily for me, thanks to Exposure Radio’s own Ross Exton, I have a perfect excuse to rip and tear the very fabrics of Valentine’s Day apart because we here at Exposure Radio there is a divide between people who approve of the concept of the day, and those who do not. I am, clearly, one of those people who is firmly tented up in the anti-Valentines camp. Therefore, it you would be kind enough to indulge me, please allow me to vent my bile on the subject all over this post.
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To give you a very (very, very, very) brief history of Valentine’s Day as we know it today, we must glance back to the 14th Century. Yes, before you history buffs jump in to correct me, I’m not referring to the Roman/Catholic origins from the selection of St. Valentines who lived all the back in the A.D. ages, I’m only glancing over the beginning of the celebration of romantic love which occurs on February 14th. The first recorded origins of the romantic Valentine’s Day came from Geoffrey Chaucer’s ‘Parlement of Foules’ in 1382, where Chaucer wrote (in modern day language):
“For this was Saint Valentine’s Day, when every bird cometh there to choose his mate.”
He wrote the poem in honour of the the first anniversary of the engagement of King Richard II of England and Anne of Bohemia who got married in January of 1382 after the was signed on in May of 1981 – at the time of their marriage they were both 15 years old.
There you have it. The first recorded association of Valentine’s Day with romantic love came from a poem of two 15 year old Royals getting married – spread the love! Obviously the actual history is far more in depth than that, but I want to focus much more on the present state of Valentine’s Day than I do its complicated beginnings.
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I am a cynic though, I am well aware of this fact. I’m sure if I trawl the internet using only the term ‘Valentine’s Day’ that it’ll be near impossible for me to come across any signs of people questioning the merit of the celebration run by a stubby, fat little child wielding a weapon.
Whoa! Well there you have it, even ‘He Who Shall Not Be Named’ is giving his two pennies over the day’s events. The worst part of it all is I’m not even one of those bitter lonely souls – I’ve been in a relationship happily for going on eight years now and I still think the idea is a farce. You know what’s romance? It’s not buying balloons and chocolates at the exact same day as everybody else. It’s showing up outside your girlfriend/boyfriend’s house in the middle of July, with an appropriately thought about item of some kind (be it a bought gift or otherwise) and dropping everything else in the world out of your mind to just be with them because you want to.
We shouldn’t need a day for this love. Especially not one where prices from big corporations are hiked up beyond belief, a kid is trying to take me out with a bow and arrow and I’m having to learn how to drawn an anatomically incorrect heart in order to demonstrate for another consecutive year that I still love the person I’ve been with for 364 other days of loving them!
Tune into Exposure Radio (RIGHT NOW!) for more on the subject with Ross Exton’s Documentary on Valentine’s Day.
Got an opinion of Valentine’s Day? You know you do! Please hare it with us here at Exposure Radio by either Tweeting at us (@Exposure_Radio) or e-mailing us (news@exposureradio.org).
