February is the month I associate with being constantly taunted by chocolates, stuffed bears and cheesy cards that I know I won’t be receiving. For all of us who are chronically single at this time of year, Feb. 14 is a day that we merely have to power through before we get to discount chocolate and the much more bearable St. Patrick’s Day paraphernalia.
If you’re anything like me, there are all sorts of ways to deal with the holiday. The first thing I tell myself is: “I am a strong independent woman who don’t need no man.” Usually I couple this with a round of “treat yo’self,” because I’m a strong independent woman who still deserves to be spoiled, even if I am single.
When that doesn’t work — because let’s face it, it’s not a good enough rationalization when there’s free chocolate on the line — I try another route. “It’s just a Hallmark holiday, invented to make us gullible consumers spend money!” I tell myself, “I should be glad that I’m alone, it means I’m not giving in to the marketing scam!”
Well, maybe it’s not all that bad. Our traditions stem from a story that is rather sweet, or the one that I prefer is, even though we do celebrate love on the anniversary of his death. Legend has it that St. Valentine was imprisoned in 270 A.D. by Roman Emperor Claudius II and fell in love with his jailer’s daughter during his time there. Before he died, he wrote her a love letter signed “from your Valentine.”
Alas, as much as I fight it, I still want to believe in the kind of love that Valentine supposedly had, and every year I remain hopeful that someone will be my valentine. Until then, though, I and all of the other single romantics out there can sit and watch romance movies and cry until we come to our senses and realize that Valentine’s chocolates fill the void much better than “The Notebook” — even if they are just from our moms.