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Don’t you just heart it?

Posted on February 11, 2010 by Staff

This is supposed to be simple — even educated fleas, for goodness sake.

But it’s not. There’s a lot of pressure that goes with the holiday of love — some of it self-inflicted, but quite a bit from the obsequiousness of the meme.

Citizen contributor Margot Lester, who is a nationally recognized advice columnist and a bit of an expert in writing about matters of the heart, offered the following on why Valentine’s Day gets under our skin:

If I were cynical, I’d say it was because we don’t feel like we do a very good job showing our love the other 364 days, so we try to make up for it on this one day. But I don’t really think that’s true.

Originally, the Valentine religious observance (remember, the dude was a saint) coincided with a pagan fertility ritual. Now, that’s something to get excited about. And who’s to say the continuation of the species isn’t a big deal?

But the modern Valentine’s Day hullabaloo probably has more to do with business than getting busy. This year, economists expect we’ll spend more than $14 billion on V-Day paraphernalia. I reckon that’s in no large part because over the years (when did Valentine’s pressure start? Second grade?) we’ve been told this is a big hairy deal replete with candy, flowers and — as we got older — all manner of baubles and sexy undergarments.

In short, we feel obligated to do something special, to be romantic, to be hooked up at all, because this humble holiday has been turned into a marketing juggernaut.

If you’re looking for a unique way to interface successfully with that juggernaut, you may want to consider swinging by Roulette Vintage Clothing on Friday for its Valentine’s Day Fashion Party featuring the looks of local designers Andrea Iacobucci, River Takada-Capel and Sarah McLane as well as vintage valentines and other goodies.

If you’re planning to dine out, you may want to check out The Eater’s column.

And tune in to our MILL blog (carrborocitizen.com/mill) for suggestions on local sweets and treats as well as our picks for wining and dining.

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