The first mention of St. Valentine’s Day was in 1382 when Chaucer wrote:
‘For this was on seynt Volantynys day
Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make’.
["For this was Saint Valentine's Day, when every bird cometh there to choose his mate."]
Since then (the day in which lovers express their love for each other by sending flowers, confectionary, and greetings cards) the 14th of February has become more commercial. Fellow ‘grumpies’ might despair when supermarket shelves suddenly present walls of pink greetings cards or see the price of cut flowers double over the days leading up to the 14th. In fact, Grumpies might lament for the loving sons and daughters who feel duty-bound to send ‘Mothers’ Day’ cards. They may despair at the approach of Hallowe’en that results in loads of crap stacked even higher on Tesco’s shelves.
Perhaps these grumps should hesitate and think again. Surely we need to stimulate growth in British industry. The retail industry might lead the recovery if we added a few more days to celebrate.
For example, maybe we could commercialize St Andrew’s Day. We could send tartan cards to each other or maybe we could buy and then nail a plastic haggis to our front door. How about plastic thistles in the window?
Surely it’s possible, with a little imagination, to dream up more ways for corporative industry to squeeze a bit more out of hard up consumers?
Love for Sale -Fluffy heart-shaped cushions piled high
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