Monday, February 14, 2011

The holiday we love... to hate...


Ahh. It is that time of year. That holiday that so many of us love to hate. Seriously. I can stand the lovey-dovy couples and chocolates and flowers that appear everywhere. I don't mind lace or hearts, but I cannot help but be wary of a holiday whose primary colors include so dominant a display of pink. Professor P. and her love of pink excepted, I DO NOT LIKE IT.   And I WON'T like it in a house, with a mouse, or with just about anything else either. (Though some pink roses still manage to be absolutely breathtaking)

but then one could argue that that's hardly pink... (from internet)


and this one is fantastic, but has a lot of apricot in it... and apricot is NOT pink. (from internet)
Fortunately I have never encountered a Valentine's Day as bad as this. 
"Lockhart's idea of a morale-booster became clear at breakfast time on February fourteenth. Harry hadn't had much sleep because of a late- running Quidditch practice the night before, and he hurried down to the Great Hall, slightly late. He thought, for a moment, that he'd walked through the wrong doors.

The walls were all covered with large, lurid pink flowers. Worse still, heart-shaped confetti was falling from the pale blue ceiling. Harry went over to the Gryffindor table, where Ron was sitting looking sickened, and Hermione seemed to have been overcome with giggles.

"What's going on?" Harry asked them, sitting down and wiping confetti off his bacon.

Ron pointed to the teachers' table, apparently too disgusted to speak. Lockhart, wearing lurid pink robes to match the decorations, was waving for silence. The teachers on either side of him were looking stony-faced. From where he sat, Harry could see a muscle going in Professor McGonagall's cheek. Snape looked as though someone had just fed him a large beaker of Skele-Gro.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" Lockhart shouted. "And may I thank the forty-six people who have so far sent me cards! Yes, I have taken the liberty of arranging this little surprise for you all - and it doesn't end here!"

Lockhart clapped his hands and through the doors to the entrance hall marched a dozen surly-looking dwarfs. Not just any dwarfs, however. Lockhart had them all wearing golden wings and carrying harps.

"My friendly, card-carrying cupids!" beamed Lockhart. "They will be roving around the school today delivering your valentines! And the fun doesn't stop here! I'm sure my colleagues will want to enter into the spirit of the occasion! Why not ask Professor Snape to show you how to whip up a Love Potion! And while you're at it, Professor Flitwick knows more about Entrancing Enchantments than any wizard I've ever met, the sly old dog!"

Professor Flitwick buried his face in his hands. Snape was looking as though the first person to ask him for a Love Potion would be force-fed poison"

                     ~Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Chapter twelve). J.K.Rowling

And for one parting shot at the whole silly day, here's something my very good friend Veronica wrote, and which voices sentiments that I wholeheartedly agree with.

!                !
I am not       fond of
The holiday    with hearts
It makes me feel  rather awkward
The immediate solution is to ignore it
But when it creeps up every year
You have to wonder if there is
Simply another way to deal
Then you remember that
This dreadfully pink
Holiday is a very
National thing
Valentines
You are
Hmf
!

Alright. Enough of that. I'd like to take this moment to remember my fantastic friends and family whom I love very much. You guys all rock my world.

 

5 comments:

  1. Valentines Day is my very favourite holiday, and, yes, it was even back in my single days. XD. How can you not love a holiday about love? To me it isn't only about couples, it's about love in general. I give valentines day gifts to just about everybody in my life that I care about.

    ReplyDelete
  2. @the1pen
    It's the pink. But I think I'm getting over it. Slowly! :D This year, it didn't really bother me, maybe next year, I'll enjoy it. XD

    ReplyDelete
  3. I wanted to link you to an essay I read, but now I can't find it for the life of me (that's the internet for you). The gist was: Valentine's Day is happiest when interpreted as an occasion to show and tell your nearest and dearest that you appreciate them. "Shower the people you love with love," James Taylor says. OTOH, the author admitted she really loves all the gaudy tacky pink stuff, so she didn't have that impediment to get past.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I addition to agreeing entirely with 1pen and anon., I must add:

    How can one not love a holiday entirely devoted to... chocolate???

    And... those rose photos are gorgeous. Are they your own work?

    ReplyDelete
  5. @Mom

    mmm... I think I'd enjoy Valentine's Day more if I actually was able to spend it with close friends and family, doing something special, but since I'm at school, it's especially blah... because all one sees are the romantic couples...

    Plus there was no chocolate involved for me.

    Sadly, I did not take those pictures, and I still don't like pink. XD

    ReplyDelete