Is Valentine’s Day merely a marketing tool?

Given that Valentine’s Day for 2011 is approaching at a fast rate, it begs the question “Is Valentine’s Day  merely a marketing tool?”, and further more “Why do we have to wait for one particular day in the year to celebrate being in love?”

Let’s think about it, over the next week restaurants, florists, jewellery stores and even lingerie shops will be out in full force to secure your hard earned cash for that one day in the year where you say to your loved one “I love you”. The colour red will be splashed about like no tomorrow. Restaurants will ensure that no group bookings are allowed (unless they’re into that way of thinking) and there will be no expense spared to make everything “perfect”. If I were being cynical, I could also suggest that these places would increase their prices because they know that they will get the sales. It’s similar to mentioning the word “wedding” whilst preparing for the big day, you are suddenly slugged an extra 200% because of the occasion.

To illustrate the “idea” of perfection, this is a true story.

A few years ago, I was travelling for work on Valentine’s Day in Brisbane and wanted to eat out that night. After looking around Southbank and being unable to find a suitable place to eat I went back to the Saville (where I was staying) and asked for a table. The waiter said “We have no tables, can’t you just eat dinner in your room?” There were spare tables but the waiter was not prepared to seat a single person in restaurant as it may spoil the mood. Needless to say I strongly requested a table (it was 8:30pm by this stage) and one was found but it was in a corner so I was out of the way. Understandably, there was no tip and I didn’t have dinner there for the remainder of the time I was in Brisbane.

So, is this idea of perfection really warranted...... ask yourselves this: When you are with someone you love, do you need a special occasion to tell them that you love them and does it have to be on a specific day of the year? The answer should be “No” for these questions. Romance should be spontaneous and (girls ...sorry if this offends) it should not matter who instigates the spontaneity!!!

Girls, you want equal opportunities at work and with most things in life which I agree with completely, but most of you still expect the male to take the lead when it comes to the “Dating Game”, romance, and relationships. Now some guys can be relatively shy in these matters, (I fit in this category) and they really appreciate it if a girl takes the lead every now and then. It shows that she is interested and willing to spend time with you.

So yes I think that Valentine’s Day is somewhat of a marketing tool. That’s not saying Valentine’s Day is a complete waste as I really like the idea of a nice dinner with that special someone. However, I think it is pointless to promote the idea of perfection when none exists and quite shallow of people to expect it.

Of course, it would be interesting to see if others had a similar view.