As a Norwegian citizen born and raised, valentines day has never really been important to me. Its not a day that we set aside for our loved ones as the english speaking nations do. However over the years, the corporate world has made more than enough of an effort to bring as many holidays to other nations as possible for the sheer thought of more profit. At the present time in Norway the most visible result of this is halloween and valentines day.
While i do to some extent oppose this method of profiteering, i can’t in good sense say that it has been all bad. in our modern times, i see that young kids spend much of their time infront of a screen just browsing the web, and while i do feel that its important that they learn to understand and use a computer, i do think they might be spending to much time at it. In the colder seasons in particular this is obvious, they don’t go outside because they have like most never really learned to improvise and take things as they come and just figure out something new and fun to do, something which is actually crucial in a childs early developement. This teaches interaction with other kids, it allowes them to get a little scratched up learning that say falling down does have consequenses and that you actually have to think things through when doing something.
Personally i had my fair share of this, in fact i can say that my dear mum didn’t really add it up until recently that on a pretty much daily basis me and my buddies would be climbing the hilside on the mountainside behind our house, we would also use a swing that was tied up to a tree that litterally swung us out over a 10meter high fall with no safeguards whatsoever. That same tree was also a treehouse for many of the local kids (really just a few boards to sit on but in our vivid imagination it was a fortress to be reckoned with!) Needless to say i am glad she never figured it out or i am sure i would have been grounded for life, or at least never been allowed to go there unsupervised (which we normally always did)
So how does this relate to the commercial holidays? Well it is only in a small limited way it does. These commercial holidays have a way of getting not only kids, but also grownups out of their comfy office chairs and put them into action. Kids love fantasy regardless at their age, Halloween is perhaps the best holiday in that sense, it offers diversity and imagination in abundance, and because all kids love sweets in one flavor or another they will go outside and go trick or treating around the neighboorhood. This part is something i can see as valuable, as for adults, well halloween offers a great excuse to bring out the little child within us. Dressing up isn’t just for kids, throw in a party and you got something that many people would love if they just allowed themselves to be a bit silly.
Valentines Day doesn’t give much to kids, but that also depends on what you define kids as. To me a 12 year old is a kid, a 16 year old isn’t. But for the 16 year olds and older popultion its a graet excuse to give our special someone a little extra attention. Personally i am of the strong opinion that this is something that you should do regardless, but for those that are not as attentive as those other few “cupids” this is their chance to redeem themselves.
On a personal level though, valentines day to me is a bit rough. I am always alone on it as i have never been able to really get into a relationship, and while it is just a celebration of love, and a commercial one at that, watching others have what i wish to have, tears me up inside. It pains me to know that i got so much to offer but none whom i can share it with. I don’t know if this is because i have just bad luck in women (i always seem to fall for those whom are already taken) or if i somehow offer to much or maybe don’t show much enough what i have to offer.
The perhaps bigger irony at the moment is that i actually have met this chick who is just so much fun to be around and i actually know for a fact that she is single too but i don’t think she is interested in me that way. (either that or did a major screwup when i was with her the other night just having a fun night out on the town)
I hope that things change soon though, i really hate being alone like this when i know i got a whole new view of the world to offer some special girl.
