THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY SIDES OF VALENTINE DAY
On the 14th of February, Nigerians
put aside the agony of a crunchy economy to join the rest of the world to
celebrate Valentine Day. To those who believe in it, the day affords lovers,
family members and friends the opportunity to practically demonstrate their
love towards one another.
Aside its rich and characteristic
romantic content, over the years, exchange of gift items such as cards,
letters, flowers, clothes, shoes, bags, jewelries, cars, and other such has
become an integral part of the Valentine ritual. Romantic meetings where cozy and sumptuous
meals are the main item in a homely spot of choice are also top on the
Valentine Day’s schedule. To demonstrate its uniqueness, red is the preferred
symbol of Valentine's Day. This is revealed through the fashion sense of
diverse Valentine disciples and apostles who adorn assorted red stuffs. Hence, to
a large extent, Valentine Day could be said to be a red lettered day!
Valentine Day has a rich history
that dates back to the ancient Roman celebration of Lupercalia which was held
on February 15. According to the narration, a priest named Valentine disobeyed
Emperor Claudius II's decree that soldiers remain bachelors. Claudius handed
down this decree believing that soldiers would be distracted and unable to
concentrate on fighting if they were married or engaged. But love drunk
Valentine defied the emperor and secretly performed marriage ceremonies. As a
result of his defiance, Valentine was put to death on February 14.
After Valentine's death, he became
a saint. As Christianity spread through Rome, the priests moved Lupercalia from
February 15 to February 14 and renamed it St. Valentine's Day to honor Saint
Valentine.
Interestingly, Valentine Day
celebration has globally assumed a larger than life image. Consequently, there
is a huge economic angle to the whole Valentine episode. Hospitality and
entertainment sectors are mostly affected. Since love and romance are involved,
it is only natural that those in the hospitality and related businesses benefit
hugely from the smell of love that is in the air.
To really catch in on the economic
prospect of the day, many restaurants, nite clubs, cinemas, relaxation gardens
and hotels usually put up special tantalizing offers on Valentine Day, all in a
bid to attract good business. As a
result of the flurry of activities for the day, these spots are often busier than
usual as many people go out for a date with their spouse, partner or
prospective lover.
In Nigeria, younger folks in particular,
eagerly look forward to celebrating Valentine. In most major cities across the
country, streets, hotels, stores, restaurants are covered in red, pink and
white streamers, with big heart shaped signs wishing people a Happy Valentine
Day. Fancy and fast food restaurants are filled with couples eating out for the
holiday. Places with very unexciting night life suddenly burst into life on
valentine nite. In major cities such as Lagos, Ibadan, Port-Harcourt, Jos and
Benin, Valentine Day often extends deep into the wee hours of the night with
adventurous lover birds embarking on a mission to paint the town red.
Hence, sales at most popular hang
outs, on Valentine Day, are usually on the high side. This implies that for
those in the hospitality sector and other related businesses, Valentine Day
offers remarkable opportunity to make extraordinary profit.
However, as it is with every human
endeavour, to some Valentine Day isn’t all about thrills and frills. This is
particularly true of those who view it from a strictly pious and moral
perspective. They are so disgusted that they dub it ‘a celebration of satanic
lies’. They are not sufficiently convinced about the correctness of the modern
day principle or philosophy behind Valentine celebration.
To the pious school of thought,
the real essence of the huge price that St. Valentine paid for love is being
recklessly trivialized and immorally derided. The kind of love that is usually
celebrated on Valentine Day is being subjected to severe scrutiny by moralists
who believe that a young fellow who is still in High school has no business
embarking on a ‘meaningless satanic voyage’, all in the name of celebrating
Valentine.
This line of reasoning is further
amplified by the claim, though without any empirical evidence, that the end
results of Valentine Day are often unwanted pregnancies, abortions and other
such related ungodly acts. One other objection of moralists to the whole
Valentine argument is that the celebration of love should not be a one day
affair. Choosing a particular day to celebrate love is, thus, viewed as an act
of hypocrisy borne out of sheer ignorance. Love should be celebrated and
practiced on a daily basis.
In order to ensure that the
youths, in particular, are not imprudent in this weird understanding of
Valentine, some religious leaders and groups now seize the opportunity of the
day to organize seminars, workshops, talks etc that could help guide the youths from falling into the snare
and error of what they termed misguided
interpretation of love. It is desired to enlighten them to aptly tutor them on
the proper way to celebrate love. The intention is to direct their minds to the
actual connotation of St Valentine’s Day.
The world is presently in dire
need of true love. Unfortunately, true
love has become a scarce commodity in contemporary time. Everyone is in search
of true love, but quite a few are really prepared to pay the price for it. With
separation and divorce now so routine that many see them as inevitable, it
seems the very idea of true love has almost become a mirage in this
dispensation. There is so much selfishness, greed and evil all across the world
that true love seems rare.
According to late American human
right activist, Martins Luther King Jr. true love heals broken hearts and
hurting wounds. In an increasingly wayward, troubled and complicated world,
true love remains an essential ingredient for peaceful co-existence, mutual
respect and understanding. It is, therefore, important that Valentine Day is
celebrated with a proper understanding of the real concept of love.
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