The Category of Successful Occasions

I know I just "blogged" and I wasn't sure if I should do another one so soon, but I guess it's ok, and I won't really run out of ideas. Best to get them down while I have them, before they disappear into the chaos of my murky subconscious. That place is rife with unshared concepts, and unheard opinions. Not that I care, I rarely dive back in to retrieve anything; I wait til they wash up on my consciousness shore.

Sometimes around St. Patrick's Day, I tell people that I am boycotting that particular holiday/celebration until Valentine's Day gets more respect. In truth, my feelings about Valentine's Day, or rather my philosophy on Successful Occasions, is the same for all events. People hate that a day is supposed to be for Love, for 2 main reasons (in my experience):
1. It's a holiday created by greeting card companies to make money.
2. I don't want a "day" telling me when to show love; it's better to show love on my own.

I have a problem with this, because it ignores the most obvious fact about nationally recognized holidays; they are absolutly meaningless, empty, and utterly forgettable. On their own. When Valentine's Day goes by, and you do nothing, of course it sucks. But I feel like too many people think that it should be that they wake up in the morning, and feel full of Love! Like there is a magic to the day that makes it obvious why anyone would decide this, of all days, is special. To be honest, that's your job. And if you don't take it seriously, it's never going anywhere.

St. Patrick's day is easy; people love to drink. This is a holiday where all you have to do is go out, and drink. I love Valentine's Day! Is it because I think Love is worth celebrating with a national holiday? Not really... I like dressing up, steak dinners, giving romantic gifts, and basically flooding people with this idea that I love them. Valentine's Day is easy for me, because I love doing all the things you're supposed to.

Basically what I'm saying is this: If you hate a holiday, that is completely your fault. "Special Days" that represent something are an opportunity for you to do fun things, and if you don't, then it's your loss. Stop blaming the holidays! So what if a greeting card company invented it, if you don't spend a penny on cards, what's the harm?! Use that day to bring a little more fun into your life, and the lives of people around you! Holidays don't suck, people suck, sometimes.

I bet I could have an amazing Valentine's Day party in the midst of a zombie apocolypse. And yes, this will be a running theme.