La Dia de San Valentin
I must admit, coming back and continuing to write in Livejournal fills me with a sort of unsettling nostalgia. This entire collection of literature was founded by a much different man. Typing in a once-familiar window in an old '90s site is like picking up an old diary from your early life and just continuing in its pages as though you were the same person, as if you could truly see that linear evolution from where you were to where you are now. It almost feels like defacing history, claiming a mind that wasn't your own, just one that once occupied the same body. Regardless, I suppose it's only practical; this is the longest stable project I have ever partaken in, and I see no reason to abandon it no matter what unease seeps into me when I return again.
Today is Valentine's Day 2012, the most useless holiday of the year. I never understood why this day is so heavily celebrated, or why it continues to grow in popularity instead of dwindling. Its origins are shrouded in such obfuscated lore that even scholars can only speculate on what it is we are actually celebrate. The name Valentine and the term Saint are really all that anyone has to go off of. There's no doubt that it's to celebrate some aspect of love, but exactly which aspect, and why, are entirely lost.
I enjoy Christmas because of its all-consuming mesh of emotions and considerations. It is a giant capitalist orgy, the notion of which is squabbled about by all people all the time. A holiday steeped in pagan history, christian history, military history, and capitalist history, creating a clusterfuck so complex that those who celebrate it often insist on considering only one or two parts at the most. Valentine's Day isn't like this, it's not as rich and heavily sold, filled with stereotypes that everyone strives to reach yet can never succeed. People just pick up flowers and chocolates and call it a day, but for what? Familial love? Couple's love? Gluttony? Lust? I have no idea. Without origins and purpose, I make it a point to specifically not celebrate Valentine's day, and do the opposite of whatever it is most people do. This is usually incredibly easy, since the opposite of anything is sitting at my computer, listening to music, and 3d modeling.
This day does have a good history with me though. A lot of people complain about bad memories and/or romantic celebrations that ended poorly, but that was never so in my case. I've never had any particularly noteworthy experiences on this holiday at all, positive or negative, perhaps because it falls in February, so that it's either too chilly to go do anything in particular or (during my school days) I was in class. I remember lots of people dreading the approach of the day (my first college roommate particularly comes to mind) but without any real reason why. Jealousy of seeing other people together? Why? They don't even know what that has to do with the holiday.
I'm pretty sure it's all about capitalism. In actuality, I don't much care; I do not profit from the day, experiencing nothing enjoyable or detrimental. I will say though, that I dislike being alone most any day, and I don't need a holiday to draw attention to that fact. No matter what society impresses on you, remember: being in a relationship does not mean that you aren't alone... it also doesn't necessarily mean that you are.
Today is Valentine's Day 2012, the most useless holiday of the year. I never understood why this day is so heavily celebrated, or why it continues to grow in popularity instead of dwindling. Its origins are shrouded in such obfuscated lore that even scholars can only speculate on what it is we are actually celebrate. The name Valentine and the term Saint are really all that anyone has to go off of. There's no doubt that it's to celebrate some aspect of love, but exactly which aspect, and why, are entirely lost.
I enjoy Christmas because of its all-consuming mesh of emotions and considerations. It is a giant capitalist orgy, the notion of which is squabbled about by all people all the time. A holiday steeped in pagan history, christian history, military history, and capitalist history, creating a clusterfuck so complex that those who celebrate it often insist on considering only one or two parts at the most. Valentine's Day isn't like this, it's not as rich and heavily sold, filled with stereotypes that everyone strives to reach yet can never succeed. People just pick up flowers and chocolates and call it a day, but for what? Familial love? Couple's love? Gluttony? Lust? I have no idea. Without origins and purpose, I make it a point to specifically not celebrate Valentine's day, and do the opposite of whatever it is most people do. This is usually incredibly easy, since the opposite of anything is sitting at my computer, listening to music, and 3d modeling.
This day does have a good history with me though. A lot of people complain about bad memories and/or romantic celebrations that ended poorly, but that was never so in my case. I've never had any particularly noteworthy experiences on this holiday at all, positive or negative, perhaps because it falls in February, so that it's either too chilly to go do anything in particular or (during my school days) I was in class. I remember lots of people dreading the approach of the day (my first college roommate particularly comes to mind) but without any real reason why. Jealousy of seeing other people together? Why? They don't even know what that has to do with the holiday.
I'm pretty sure it's all about capitalism. In actuality, I don't much care; I do not profit from the day, experiencing nothing enjoyable or detrimental. I will say though, that I dislike being alone most any day, and I don't need a holiday to draw attention to that fact. No matter what society impresses on you, remember: being in a relationship does not mean that you aren't alone... it also doesn't necessarily mean that you are.