Valentine’s Day - Diamonds or bust?
Its that time of year again, the date of the 14th of February, Valentine’s Day is known world-wide and celebrated by many cultures in many countries.
Expectations vs reality. Sweet vs Bitter. Love vs hate. Happy Valentine’s Day everyone. Is it possibly a day of disappointment for you or is it a day of happiness and love and celebrations?
There are a number of sources documenting the origin of Valentine’s Day, but the majority suggest that Valentine’s Day was named in honour of two martyrs named Saint Valentine and through folklore, traditions and time the day became a day to celebrate Romance and love.
According to an early tradition an imprisoned Saint Valentine restored the sight of a jailer’s daughter, with folklore saying this was a romantic link, and upon the day of his execution he wrote her a letter signed ‘Your Valentine’.
The global tradition of celebrating the day has been around a while, with a celebration feast on February the 14th for Saint Valentine dating back as far as the 8th century. A long standing tradition that has withstood time, and perhaps why many couples choose to dine out on the special day.
Many can have high expectations on the day, it can also be the day to secretly pass something onto your crush. A day of spent in anticipation wondering if you will receive a little something from certain person you have had your eye on. A day you thought you were getting engaged instead you are gifted a box of roses chocolates and expected to cook dinner later.
Could the real winners in this day of ‘love’ actually be the flower shops, the restaurants and the chocolate sellers of the world? (Possibly the odd jeweller).
A nationally representative survey of 1,507 respondents revealed loved-up consumers will spend $216 each on average on their significant others – at a whopping national outlay of $796.4 [HD1] [AT2] million.
Almost $183.4 million of that total will be spent on dining out, while $100.9 million will be spent on flowers.
There are also numerous ways to get through Valentine’s day without breaking the bank, you have to eat on Valentine’s day so why not just go that extra mile for just one day. Here are a couple of ideas to get you started:- try a candlelit dinner at home or picnic at your favourite park.
Bake a sweet treat and reminisce through old photos or try that fondue machine you have had sitting in the cupboard for a few years. Enjoy breakfast in bed or do a DIY wine tasting.
And if you are alone there’s nothing wrong with buying yourself some flowers and your cooking your dog a steak to enjoy your evening. You could also get all your single friends together and have an evening dining out.
Remember, whatever you do don’t spend the day thinking you’re missing out. Happy Valentine’s day everyone, go and spoil yourself or your other half.
