Though not in Botswana yet, there is a group of single people who take the anti-Valentine commemoration a step further than nonchalance. They have a completely gothic perspective which runs extremely parallel to the conventional pretty pinks, whites and reds.
They trade bright-coloured candy for black liquorices and angry emoticon hearts, their vases filled with dozens of black roses. This phenomenon is slowly trickling into our borders. Young women nowadays are not afraid to show they are single and loving it.
“Valentine’s day? I do not celebrate that. It is merely another marketing gimmick for shops to part consumers of their hard-earned cash,” declared Pinkie*, a 33-year-old marketing executive.
She divulges, though, that the festive season had gone with her three-year-old relationship. And she is still reeling from the ordeal.
Shop owners have barely taken down their Christmas trees and the tinsel decorations but stores ÔÇô and their promotional materials ÔÇô are already laden with the hearts and confetti. Red, pink and white are the order of the day as lovers across the world prepare themselves for the month of love celebrated on February the 14, traditionally St Valentine’s Day.
Pinkie is a just one of us single gals across the world who celebrate S.A.D. It has nothing to do with the actual emotion but is a telegraphic shortcut for Singles Awareness (or Appreciation) Day, ironically celebrated on February 14 as well. It is actually a spoof which puts a humorous spin on this otherwise sappy amorous occasion.
If there was a written rule that Valentine’s Day was strictly for people in some kind of relationship and that single ladies were completely oblivious of it, we would all sleep better night.
The emphasis is on ladies because whether or not men are in a relationship, they are oblivious to the holiday, often requiring a certain amount nagging, complaining and whining for them to give in and buy perfume, jewels and heart shaped food. As Jay Leno once said, “Today is Valentine’s Day, or, as men like to call it, Extortion day.”
All this is done in the faces of those with no one to spend the day with. The green-eyed monster (jealousy) then makes an appearance, and the single girls take the ‘I don’t care’ or the ‘Bitter Beatrice’ routes. Either way, what unfolds is a cold day in hell for most single ladies.
Don’t even for once think that the grass is greener on the other side because even those in relationships suffer a little, some to the extent of buying themselves gifts on the pretext that ‘Someone special’ got it for them.
The advent of social media has not made it easier. Every status update, tweet, blog and mixit will be a constant reminder that people out there are happy and are in love.
Love it or loathe it, Valentine’s day is well on its way. It will be advertised and people across the globe will be celebrating it despite your relationship status.
