Today is Valentine’s Day, a holiday where we celebrate the ones we love with chocolate, flowers, cards and sweet sentiments.
Financially, those tributes benefit Hallmark, Hershey’s and FTD, but traditions are traditions. If we can get past the protestations of those who think these types of holidays are nothing more than a marketing plan to take our money, then let’s take a look at holidays and why they’re worth more than retailers would have us believe.
New Year’s Day is more than champagne and horn blowers. It’s a day of renewal, a day to make changes and promises. Of course we don’t keep them, but that’s where Mardi Gras shines.
For those not born in Louisiana, Mardi Gras is the day before Lent begins. The Cajun holiday is more than catching beads, digging through a king cake for the plastic baby and going to parades.
It’s the day where we admit what foods we’ve been cheating with since our New Year’s resolutions fell through the cracks. Mardi Gras is a day to make good on a new set of self-imposed rules and regulations for the 40 days of Lent.
Instead of giving up cake, those 40 days are a great opportunity to give up the things that cause us the most harm – toxic relationships and not taking care of ourselves.
Just about the time our willpower is close to empty after walking past the Cadbury chocolate eggs and giant chocolate bunnies, Easter arrives. For Christians, it’s a day to celebrate Christ rising from the dead and the start of a new year.
It’s also a great time to let loose the inner child in us. No matter how old you are, dyeing Easter eggs is fun. Even though we don’t have young children, I still drag out a Paas kit, vinegar and coffee mugs and dye all the eggs in the fridge.
Likewise with Halloween. I still love seeing little ones dressed up as princesses and pirates. Best of all, Halloween is my son and niece’s birthday, so instead of griping about how much all those bags of candy cost, I’m thrilled two of my favorite people came into the world on Oct. 31.
Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are big-ticket items. Sure there’s the oversized $5.50 Hallmark cards that play music, but nothing beats a hand-made construction-paper card from the kids.
Parents deserve more than a new frying pan or oversized coffee mug. These are the women and men who changed diapers, cleaned up spit, worried about us every day of our lives and do the thousand little things that make life easier.
For those whose parents have passed away, the day is bittersweet, but it’s still an opportunity to think about how mom and dad shaped us into the people we are today.
Father’s Day is when I think about all the good qualities my dad had. It’s also a day to celebrate what a good father and grandfather my husband is and what a good dad my youngest son is.
Thanksgiving is about family and, let’s be honest, cornbread dressing and pecan pie. Christmas is a holy day, and yes it’s commercialized, but at midnight, when the children are dreaming about Santa, it’s the parents who understand the true meaning of Christmas – giving without expecting thanks.
So instead of whining about the money I have to spend for holidays, I try to concentrate on the intangibles they make me think about – the impact the people, holidays and traditions have on our lives.
Which brings us back to Valentine’s Day.
Cards and sentiments say we should praise the ones we love. That includes everyone – a significant other, aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbors, parents, friends and those who stepped in as family when we needed them.
People – that’s what all these holidays are really all about. So go ahead, get that cheesy box of Valentine’s Day candy tomorrow when they’re on sale and share it with your loved ones.
And try not to take a bite out of every square to make sure you didn’t get the orange cream chocolate.
This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.