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So Valentine's Day is coming up and I thought it'd be fun if we did something appropriate. I was thinking maybe on the big V-Day all us singles send our favorite oo.net member a PM all spiffied up like a Valentine's card, and maybe we can post some of the most creative ones. And maybe somebody else has some good ideas for stuff to do, too. Like buy each other chocolates, but since we can send them via e-mail, we'll just eat them for the other person. And then wash them down with some tasty red wine, and even though you're drinking by yourself it won't be alcoholism because it's celebrating Valentine's Day, yay!

Just a thought.

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So Valentine's Day is coming up and I thought it'd be fun if we did something appropriate. I was thinking maybe on the big V-Day all us singles send our favorite oo.net member a PM all spiffied up like a Valentine's card, and maybe we can post some of the most creative ones...Like buy each other chocolates, but since we can send them via e-mail, we'll just eat them for the other person. And then wash them down with some tasty red wine, and even though you're drinking by yourself it won't be alcoholism because it's celebrating Valentine's Day, yay!

Cool! Not only will I get to buy myself chocolate and booze (I could hit two birds with one stone with a Brandy Alexander, yum), I'm encouraged to write private letters to myself--and if they're cool enough they'll be made public! How enlightened--public masturbation is illegal in most places. :)

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This reminds me of elementary school when we all brought our valentines in and put them in each other's heart-shaped envelopes we made in art the day before. I must have only been in 1st grade or so, but had a crush on Brian. I misspelled his name Brain on his valentine and after he read it, he came over to me and said angrily, "My name is Brian, not Brain!" I was crushed. :lol:

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I have been boycotting VD for the majority of my adult life, single or not. It does not bother me that others celebrate it same way I have no feelings either way toward Chinese New Year or Hanukkah but for me personally there is something very unappealing about celebrating something as selective as love on a usually meaningless day (in respect to couple's relationship history) and collectively at the same time with everybody else. Just not my thing. I am very much for celebrating events that are of particular significance to each individual couple.

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I have been boycotting VD for the majority of my adult life, single or not. It does not bother me that others celebrate it same way I have no feelings either way toward Chinese New Year or Hanukkah but for me personally there is something very unappealing about celebrating something as selective as love on a usually meaningless day (in respect to couple's relationship history) and collectively at the same time with everybody else. Just not my thing. I am very much for celebrating events that are of particular significance to each individual couple.

Then don't go celebrating X-Mas since that is done collectively.

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Then don't go celebrating X-Mas since that is done collectively.

Christmas has a different meaning for me. It is a celebration of material prosperity, freedom, and worldly joy. I don't attach to it the same level of selectivity as I do to romantic love.

I really don't wish to discuss this further. We all have our personal preferences. This is one of mine.

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I have been boycotting VD for the majority of my adult life, single or not. It does not bother me that others celebrate it same way I have no feelings either way toward Chinese New Year or Hanukkah but for me personally there is something very unappealing about celebrating something as selective as love on a usually meaningless day (in respect to couple's relationship history) and collectively at the same time with everybody else. Just not my thing. I am very much for celebrating events that are of particular significance to each individual couple.

I agree, but I also consider it a meaningful day in one sense: It's the eve of National Half-Off Chocolate Day!

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I have been boycotting VD for the majority of my adult life, single or not. It does not bother me that others celebrate it same way I have no feelings either way toward Chinese New Year or Hanukkah but for me personally there is something very unappealing about celebrating something as selective as love on a usually meaningless day (in respect to couple's relationship history) and collectively at the same time with everybody else. Just not my thing. I am very much for celebrating events that are of particular significance to each individual couple.

Ah, at LAST a woman who understands this and won't get bent out of shape for not getting something on Valentine's Day!

What are you doing Friday night?

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And then wash them down with some tasty red wine, and even though you're drinking by yourself it won't be alcoholism because it's celebrating Valentine's Day, yay!

Try some Kir Royale. (A little more Valentine's-y) Pour a little creme de cassis (a sweet, red, blackcurrant flavored liqueur) in a glass and top with champagne and (if you want) garnish with a raspberry.

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I have been boycotting VD for the majority of my adult life, single or not. It does not bother me that others celebrate it same way I have no feelings either way toward Chinese New Year or Hanukkah but for me personally there is something very unappealing about celebrating something as selective as love on a usually meaningless day (in respect to couple's relationship history) and collectively at the same time with everybody else. Just not my thing. I am very much for celebrating events that are of particular significance to each individual couple.

Nathaniel Branden's book The Psychology of Romantic Love starts out with an interesting argument that the modern ideal of romantic love is very much a product of capitalism and the industrial revolution just as was the commercialism we celebrate on Christmas. It's the *ideal* of romantic love that I celebrate on Valentines day.. I don't mind celebrating it "collectively," because it's something that should be a value to all people, just like commercialism on Christmas or freedom on independence day.

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I don't mind celebrating it "collectively," because it's something that should be a value to all people, just like commercialism on Christmas or freedom on independence day.

here is a thread that touches on that sense of the collective, in case anyone would like to discuss it further, so as not to fray up this thread too much.

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I was thinking maybe on the big V-Day all us singles send our favorite oo.net member a PM all spiffied up like a Valentine's card

Just ensure that the person you are PMing is single too! ;) Otherwise that could be awkward.

I also wonder how this will turn out in practice, given the large number of actively posting males to females on this forum.

Edited by DarkWaters
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I have been boycotting VD for the majority of my adult life, single or not. It does not bother me that others celebrate it same way I have no feelings either way toward Chinese New Year or Hanukkah but for me personally there is something very unappealing about celebrating something as selective as love on a usually meaningless day (in respect to couple's relationship history) and collectively at the same time with everybody else. Just not my thing. I am very much for celebrating events that are of particular significance to each individual couple.

I know that you, Sophia, prefer not to discuss this, and so I won't. However, I would still like to explain why I do not object to Valentine's Day, though I have no particular passion for it.

I think that personal celebrations are better. For example, celebrating achievements and birthdays are my favorite. Still, days like the Fourth of July, New Year's, and even Pesach with my Jewish friends have meaning for me. The Fourth is great for taking time out to consider our freedoms and the commitment that it takes to maintain them, and for sharing that time with people who understand your values. New Year's is fantastic as an arbitrary time to annually consider everything that you've accomplished, everything you want to accomplish, and setting the pace you want for your life. It's also very fulfilling to share that with friends and the people you love, to feel great about the lives you value and for which you have hopes. Pesach... well, for me that's just great for getting dressed up in comical or creative costumes and having fun with my friends.

Much lower on the list, I still like to celebrate Valentine's Day. I like it better when I have a Valentine's, because it's great to just take some time to appreciate the person I am with. You do that on a birthday, but then it's one-sided. That's not a bad thing, but it's just a different celebration. And while you could choose any day of the year to do that, I think the tradition built up around Valentine's--the hearts, chocolates, champagne, cards, even the story of St. Valentine--is really cute. Also, it's good to get together with your friends to celebrate their relationships, too.

So I guess my point is that there's nothing particularly significant about the collective nature. To celebrate these national holidays is more to have celebrations that are personally significant, even though you celebrate with friends, compatriots, or people who share values.

Word, now ya heard.

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