Hello and welcome back to It’s Time to Celebrate! If you are up to date with my column, you will know that last time I set some New Year’s Resolutions. Throughout January, I have mostly stuck to them. A big thing I have been focusing on is reading more. Last month I read three books, and while that definitely does not seem like much to people with a goal of 100 books a year, it’s a lot for me. Besides that, eating better and working out more have been kind of a gradual change for me. I have definitely begun to focus more on my goals this month than in January.
On a podcast I listen to called “With Intention,” the host, Cami Sophia, discussed the idea that “February is the new January” or that January is kind of like a “free trial” of the new year. This is because many people are trying out new goals or resolutions, usually for the first time, and instead of getting frustrated with the fact that you are not accomplishing these goals within the first month of the year, you can look at January as a month to experiment and see what works.
Last time, I mentioned that one of the reasons I dislike the New Year is the expectation that everything is supposed to change between December 31 and January 1, so I really like the idea proposed in the podcast of January being a “free trial.” I believe looking at it this way really takes the pressure off of trying to fiercely stick to resolutions that many people end up breaking after a week.
But enough about goals and resolutions, let’s investigate February’s holidays!
If you are reading this on the day of publication, you probably know what makes today so special…it’s Valentine’s Day! Before I share my opinion about the holiday, I did a little research into how the holiday is celebrated around the world.
Some countries celebrate Valentine’s Day in a very similar way as the US. Mexico, France, Spain and the UK all celebrate the day by giving cards and gifts, along with romantic dates. Besides Valentine’s Day, Spain has another day in October to honor the saint of love where similar festivities also occur.
Something unique though about many other countries is a difference in who is celebrated on Valentine’s Day and their equivalents on other various days; friendship and platonic love is usually much more emphasized in other countries. Finland and Denmark are two countries where the love between one’s family members is much more emphasized and gifts are usually given within friends and family.
To me, Valentine’s Day has never really been a huge deal. In elementary school I loved it because I always exchanged valentines with my whole class and ended up with a big bag of candy. I think I shared this love with many of my classmates then, but now in high school, I think people’s opinions have largely changed. Most people I know either love it or hate it. Usually in high school, if you love it, you are in a relationship or have a valentine. If you dislike it, from what I have seen, you have either been recently broken up with or you are not in a relationship (and are salty about it).
This difference in opinion playing out in high school usually creates some pretty extreme opposites. I feel like you always see the lovey-dovey couples who, to be honest, are pretty cringey, but you also see people who are destined to hate it and hate on any couple who are happy.
I don’t feel very strongly either way, and usually I celebrate the holiday more similarly with countries around the world, by celebrating friendship. “Galentine’s Day” is a way to celebrate the holiday that I really like and something I recommend for people who are angry that they are single.
But no matter what your opinion is of the day, make sure to celebrate both your friends and family on this day along with romantic partners.
That’s it for me for this month! Make sure to check out my next edition in March!
