Okay, maybe it's just MY tradition. But when I was an unattached freshman in college, all my new friends around me joining sororities, meeting guys, pairing off, I wasn't really looking at Valentine's Day as something particularly exciting to celebrate. But I didn't want to be bitter.
So I went to the local toy store, bought beanie lizards for all my single friends, and gave them out with ribbons tied around their necks. Ever since then, I've given little beanie lizards to my friends -- single or attached, Valentine's Day or not -- as expressions of love. Like flowers or chocolate, but cuter.
I never thought of Valentine's Day as a couples-only holiday anyway. My parents would always give me Valentine's gifts - heart-shaped earrings, chocolates, cassette tapes. And I would always make cards for them. A religious group in India has declared 14 Februrary to be Parents Worship Day so that the youth aren't tempted to celebrate Valentine's Day with their 'premik' or 'premika' ... but why not both? Love isn't just for boyfriends and girlfriends. We love our parents, children, siblings, friends, and pets too. Why limit Valentine's Day to just expectations of romance and extremely expensive roses? Don't we need more love in the world; less hatred and division? Why not have a day to commemmorate love, of all kinds?
Life is short and we don't know if we're going to be here tomorrow. Tell those you love that you love them. And, if you're so inclined, give them a lizard.
So I went to the local toy store, bought beanie lizards for all my single friends, and gave them out with ribbons tied around their necks. Ever since then, I've given little beanie lizards to my friends -- single or attached, Valentine's Day or not -- as expressions of love. Like flowers or chocolate, but cuter.
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| Happy Valentine's Day! Here's a lizard. |
Life is short and we don't know if we're going to be here tomorrow. Tell those you love that you love them. And, if you're so inclined, give them a lizard.
Happy Valentine's Day!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on sharing the love. I do love the idea of giving out lizards, that's a very uniquely sweet thing to do! :) Usually I give out home baked goods to my family and friends.
Home baked goods are even sweeter Emily!! I hope you had a great Valentine's and a wonderful first day of Spring :)
DeleteI've grown up knowing of Valentine's Day, long before it became such a rage, commercially driven, in India. I learnt of it as a day kids fashion cards for their classmates, teachers, grandparents. Only in later years did I see it grow to its present misconstrued shape. I totally agree (how many are the times we see eye to eye!) but with a caveat: the one person who loves me without reason or expectations in the world, my only valentine, would not appreciate the lizard :-)
ReplyDeleteIt is so interesting to me how Valentine's Day has really become "Indianised" into a week-long celebration that Americans do not even understand! Rose day? Propose day? :)
DeleteMy valentine would not appreciate the lizard either and thinks it is a weird thing. I think weird things are the most wonderful.
Thank you Lisa! It is an honor to have you comment here :)
ReplyDeleteYou had me at "Lizard"...
ReplyDeleteI shall send you one if you like! (Also I need your blog address again - I lost all mine in the RSS Feed Crash of 2014)
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