{"id":2164,"date":"2012-02-07T15:30:21","date_gmt":"2012-02-07T23:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/?p=2164"},"modified":"2012-02-08T09:15:19","modified_gmt":"2012-02-08T17:15:19","slug":"open-space-in-defence-of-valentines-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/2012\/02\/07\/open-space-in-defence-of-valentines-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Space<\/i>: In defence of Valentine’s Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

Valentine\u2019s Day gets a bad rap.<\/p>\n

When February 14 arrives, people roll their eyes, furrow their brows, and poke fun at anything V-Day related. But I say Valentine\u2019s is to be adored, not detested.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s face it, February sucks. It\u2019s cold, grey, often rainy, and always unpleasant. What better time to celebrate a holiday dedicated to love and intimacy? Valentine\u2019s Day is a welcome reason to cuddle up and forget your February blues. And if you don\u2019t have a partner, don\u2019t sweat it. Valentine\u2019s Day doesn\u2019t have to be just for couples. In fact, it\u2019s a great excuse to get your friends together and celebrate singlehood. Remember the innocent days of childhood, when we exchanged pun-laden Valentine\u2019s cards with our classmates? The feeling of that hand-decorated paper bag heavy with messages of friendship was sweeter than any box of chocolates and had nothing to do with coupling up.<\/p>\n

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Graphic by Jessica Tai\/Nexus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Valentine\u2019s Day has no shortage of critics. They are keen to point out that big business uses Valentine\u2019s to hock goods; in this case, goods like chocolate, flowers, and heart-shaped pot holders. There is no denying that, for many, this day has become a commercialized mess that over-emphasizes the importance of gift-giving and being in a romantic relationship.<\/p>\n

Then there are those that proclaim we should treat every day like Valentine\u2019s Day. It would be nice if every day could just be one big love-fest, but that\u2019s not how things are. In reality, maybe we need a so-called \u201cmade-up\u201d holiday to remind us to get out of our February funk and show a little affection.<\/p>\n

Yes, Valentine\u2019s Day is commercial, but it doesn\u2019t have to be. Skip the obscene restaurant scene and make a special home-cooked meal. Instead of roses, give someone a homemade moss terrarium. Bake a tray of heart-shaped cookies, carefully ice each one with delicate pink icing, and eat them all while watching Dexter.<\/em><\/p>\n

So, this year, do anything to make an otherwise sub-par month a special one; rekindle your love of February 14.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Valentine\u2019s Day gets a bad rap. When February 14 arrives, people roll their eyes, furrow their brows, and poke fun at anything V-Day related. But I say Valentine\u2019s is to be adored, not detested. Let\u2019s face it, February sucks. It\u2019s cold, grey, often rainy, and always unpleasant. What better time to celebrate a holiday dedicated […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2264,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-views","category-february-8-2012"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t