Valentines...Ah! The day so many people feel on edge, the anxiety attack, the sense of entitlement, the wishful thinking (he should propose today), the day most people build up all their hopes and dreams on an individual to make all their dreams come true, or- maybe it's just a day like any other day you should show love to yourself, but on that particular date you can feel free to go overboard for yourself, or those around you, but you should never feel pressured to do anything you can't.
Did that make sense? ... Please read on for more details and please don't forget to follow me on Instagram if you like my content.
When it comes to accomplishing things on my own, I am unrivaled. Life reared me in the most terrible but unforgettable way, teaching me to never rely on anyone for anything, which is why my favorite saying is - "Expect nothing and you will never be disappointed". Obviously, every female loves to dream and enjoys a little romance, butterflies, and so on. I have always appreciated the look on an actress's face when someone brings her chocolate, flowers, a surprise, and so on, not that I expected this from anyone, I just loved seeing the happy expression on their faces.
However, in previous years, Valentine's Day has been a trigger for me in many ways, and I didn't appreciate seeing people's sense of entitlement expressed on social media, people pinning their hopes on another person to solve their difficulties on Valentine's Day. You'd see things like, "Look at what he did for her, God when will it happen for me?" or "He better get me a car on Valentine's Day."
So, what are our current understandings of Valentine's Day? It began as a Christian feast day commemorating a martyr named Valentine. It has evolved into a huge cultural and economic celebration of romance and love in many parts of the world, thanks to subsequent folk customs.
History of Valentine's Day
A pagan fertility ceremony was conducted in Rome every February before it was known as Valentine's Day until the Pope prohibited it and replaced the event with Saint Valentine's Day. It became a feast day in the Catholic Calendar of Saints after that.
Chaucer, a Middle Ages poet, was the first to associate Valentine's Day with passionate love. He penned a poem called 'Parliament of Fowls' in the late 14th century, which portrays a group of birds that congregated to select their spouses on'seynt valentynes day'.
Now, Valentine’s Day sees all types of love being celebrated- including between friends and family.
The day itself is named after a Catholic priest named Saint Valentine.
Since I am an advocate for "Self-Love," I decided to keep practicing what I preach by ordering myself a Valentine's Day Package -Flowers, a Teddy Bear, Chocolate, and a couple of other items, I made sure to aim the delivery date for Valentines day meaning I'd have to look forward to receiving my goodies in anticipation, like a little girl as I had no idea how they would package it and what it would look like but I just selected a package
I also added a letter to myself, penning only a few lines to my "Inner Child," encouraging her to never stop smiling and to know how much I adore her. I won't lie, it felt great to have it delivered, to sit and carefully open it, to see how wonderfully packed it was, and then to see my little letter to myself, which just made me grin reading it and re-affirming it. (Yes I adore positive affirmations).
In a word, this post was about emphasizing the significance of self-love and letting you know that putting yourself and your happiness first is not selfish. If you are happy, everyone around you will be happy as well.
I hope you enjoyed my little post, and I hope next year you treat yourself to something special On valentine's day, even though you already know someone else may or may not show you their love or appreciation of you in kind, know that you can also gift yourself wonderful things and not just on Valentine's day, but occasionally you should spoil yourself.
Excellent way to put it, thank you for sharing, I will take your idea and implement it in my birthday too.
ReplyDeleteReading this just makes me feel better about my thoughts on the whole general idea of valentine's day especially in Naija, the way the women behave like it is a do or die situation, I wish many people can also view it from your perspective, great post
ReplyDeleteI could lose myself when I start to read your blogs. Because when I read you I feel home. Someone which understands me and my way of thinking. You are such a gorgeous human
ReplyDeleteI am happy I tapped on the link via the group page and it led me to your blog. This is a Very interesting post thank you very much for sharing. I will check out your other articles. stay Blessed girly
ReplyDeleteBeautifully expressed!! We should celebrate ourselves and this is the perfect way to remind us. Thank you for sharing, mami 💜
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