Valentines’ Day Wahala
Now, I really don’t get this. I never have and don’t think I ever will. The fuss made about V-Day is, to my mind, overblown – and that’s putting it mildly.In the States and in England, I always saw it as a huge marketing gimmick. Indeed, the stores seemed to profit quite nicely from this silly celebration. I don’t mean to suggest that it is silly to celebrate love, but to earmark one ENTIRE day out of 365 to show that special someone how much you really care counts as a truly woeful effort in my book!
Now back home, I am seeing the seriousness with which people regard this day taken to a whole new level. The promos for special Valentines’ Day dinners, weekend getaways, etc; as well as the ads by various shops for the de rigeur tokens of love (teddy bears, flowers, chocolates, wine, underwear – could we be any less imaginative people?) are everywhere. But, when I read that it is a common occurrence for people to leave work early to get a head start on their celebrations, I thought that was taking things too far. Call me cynical. Call me jaded, but you can’t call me a Valentines’ Day fool.
6 comments:
Yeah, and it's all relatively recent. I can virtually remember the year Valentine's Day started in Nigeria....and within a few years the roads around the major fast food joints were blocked every Val's Day....madness
You remember the year Valentine's Day started? Dang! How old are you? Just joking.
Well, as with most things, V-Day has brought out Nigerians' enterpreneurial abilities in full force. Whatever we set our minds to do, we will suceed at. Just wake me up when it's all over.
all holidays are so commercialized. when i worked in the mall, it seemed like before christmas was over we would have valentine's day and easter ready to go.
dang!! i thought valentine's had always been big in nigeria. i remember having to go to extreme measures to keep my crushes happy in secondary school. so can you honestly say that the big celebrations and commercial drives are a recent occurence in nigeria?
perhaps you had never noticed before?
For home buddies like me a word of advice, if you can stay off the roads on the 14th!!! I intend to try and get of work early so i don't have to spend the night on 3rd mainland bridge!!!
But the (holiday/festival???) has done a good thing for small businesses and all that, imagine all the cakes that would be baked, cards that would be made, flowers sold, etc etc, atleast some people will be smiling all the way to the bank.
interesting.
every day is valentine's day!
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