Do you remember Valentine’s Day parties from your childhood? I do – I remember being in elementary school and excitedly going through the little classroom-made envelope of cards I received that day, eager to see which card the boy I liked gave me. Looking back, chances are the boys could have cared less about Valentines Day or the cards chosen, and likely scribbled their names on them because their moms told them to! At the time, the cards were subject to scrutiny. “He picked Scooby Doo for me, and he really likes Scooby Doo…I wonder what that means?”
Thankfully, as the years went by, it became more obvious which boy wanted to be my Valentine based on the cards, or gifts, given. In North America, we’re pretty nontraditional when it comes to Valentines Day traditions in relation to the rest of the world. We give cards, chocolates, and as we get older jewelry, perfume, and other items to show our intended how much we love them. There’s no real tradition held to it like other countries.
In Taiwan, for example, flowers are given to women by men. The number of flowers is significant – one rose means “ love” while 11 roses means “favorite,” 99 means “forever” and 108 roses means “Will you marry me?” At least the amounts are distinct so women are not left counting for a clue!
The most memorable Valentines Day gift I received wasn’t from my husband (shhh!) It was actually before we were married. I was working in a mall and a fellow mall employee had a crush on me. He was nice but I wasn’t interested. For Valentines Day he did something really sweet though. He bought one of those big childrens Valentines card books – the kind with the punch out cards (remember those?) He then filled in every single card with “To Tenille From ____” The sad thing is I can’t even remember his name for this story! Regardless, it was pretty sweet to get an envelope full of tiny cards. I agreed to go out to dinner with him after that, though it still didn’t turn into anything. A+ for effort for that guy!
Unfortunately for the 100 Valentines card guy, it was my husband who won my heart! In our early dating days, his Valentine’s gifts always consisted of perfume or chocolate – such a romantic! These days, 10 years married and 3 kids later we’re down to cards, flowers and chocolates!
Whatever the gift, the most important thing on Valentine’s Day is to show love. Appreciation. Actually, that’s not a bad approach any day of the year in a marriage. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to let your beloved know how much you love them. In fact, I’m sure you could do it without spending any money at all. Now that’s frugal. 😉
Aww look at my little charmer there 🙂 he’s starting early!
Great post – we’re the same way. Valentines day is kinda blah now. Hmph.
Surprisingly enough my favorite Valentine gift was from my Brother. He had a big bouquet of mixed flowers delivered to me at work when I was single. On the card he wrote “No girl should be without flowers on Valentine’s” Love Bro…. Totally unexpected…..