Valentine’s Day, is becoming like Halloween.

Mrs BoggledMind and I stayed in on Valentine's Day as we like our Saturdays at home, particularly in the evening.

However, I did bake her favourite cake for her - cherry / almond loaf cake. She was very happy!

To Maggiemaybe! Bravo! That’s the spirit I have been celebrating it with my husband of 57 years, whilst we are still breathing!!!
He cooked me a spicy Thai chicken soup, so spicy 🌶️ I thought I’d die! Cheer up everyone, you don’t have to partake in anything you don’t want to. Ciao 👋

DH and I don’t ‘do’ Valentine’s Day and never have. Mind you he has today spent 3 hours just hanging around whilst I was in an eye clinic. He got my bowl and utensils and porridge out ( as always) , at breakfast time. Told me to sit down after we got home and appeared with a cup of tea. He has just squeezed 5 lemons for pie filling because he knows I find it difficult and went back down to the local shops for a couple of items I forgot.
I reckon that’s enough without flowers and chocolates on one day as he does similar every day. Even on the days he drives me mad.

Happy Anniversary, GrowingOldDisgracefully. 💐

Thinking of you, MrsMatt.💐

MrsMatt

When I had my own business, no matter where in the world I was working, if it fell on Valentines day my OH would send me flowers. In 2014 he passed on Valentines day. He always did like to make a grand gesture. So today is a bittersweet day for me.

❤️

keepcalmandcavachon

Allira

Oreo

Is it something in the British psyche that keeps them so down on having fun?

A real pumpkin is better than plastic that!

Likewise, chocolates rather than teddy bears (unless it's a Steiff one, of course!).

Oh dear my non Steiff Teddy has just flounced off and I've had to promise to make him a new love heart waistcoat if he is to make an appearance for St Valentine's Day
And in a month or so it'll be time to start the pumpkin seeds off, all and every festival celebrated here!

If Bobby needs to make a second début he is going to need a lot of tlc. He is Pedigree, not Steiff but even so he deserves better.
I feel a rush of guilt every time I think of him in a box in the attic.

The Teddy bear ladies could advise, I'm sure!

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

Isn’t every day Valentine’s Day if you are lucky enough to both survive into your seventies and eighties?

When I had my own business, no matter where in the world I was working, if it fell on Valentines day my OH would send me flowers. In 2014 he passed on Valentines day. He always did like to make a grand gesture. So today is a bittersweet day for me.

I remarked to DH when we were in Tesco the other day that apart from the usual flowers and bouquets as you went in the shop, they didn’t seem to be pushing Valentine’s Day as much as usual. Quite a few boxes of chocs around though.

Maybe because last year, there seemed to be no end of ‘reduced’ bouquets after the weekend.

Should add that neither DH nor I contribute any Valentine Day expenditure to assist the local economy.

🌹

They don’t bother with it much here - yet. No doubt we will ‘catch up ‘ with the rest of the world when they work out there is money to be had. Hallowe’en was really over the top this year, shops full of garbage and pumpkins. So you have Christmas, Australia Day, Valentines, Easter, Mid Winter ( for us ) in July, Hallowe’en etc - suppose the shops love it.

I'm an online comper, get 1000 emails a day in the run up to Black Friday, then again Christmas about 500 a day for Valentines and then Mothering Sunday

It is our wedding anniversary, 45 years this year and we will be celebrating our love and commitment - nothing tacky about it for us. A day out today, (to avoid weekend crowds), and a meal out tomorrow evening. We give each other a gift, and a Valentines and an anniversary card, reminisce about previous years and our wedding, and make it a special day. Nothing Halloween about it for us.

My daughter and I are divorced and my gorgeous granddaughter has been dumped by her ‘mummy’s boy’ bf.
So none of us will be getting Valentine’s Cards. I feel sad for them - they are young.
Years ago, I used. to send each of my 3 children a VC until they told me that they knew it was from me, so I stopped 😂

I am grateful enough to be with my DH tomorrow (no cards)
but I send a 💐 to all who no longer have their beloved with them x

The origin of Valentine's Day is once again rooted in the deep, dark, pagan past of Rome. It was the day of the Lupercalia, the day birds allegedly chose their mates, a day of lust and fertility. It also involved naked young men becoming extremely drunk, killing goats and cutting strips off their bloody skins ...they then ran through the streets, beating women with the strips. Any woman thus beaten would be pregnant that year. Early Christians, as they always did, tidied up the concept, making it respectable as the day of lovers. The Roman version actually sounds more fun.

We typically don't celebrate weddding Anniversaries. However, Valentine's Day is a happy selfless time, we love any family celebrations.

Our Church celebrations for Saint Valentine aren't romantic.

Well, I found a good card for dh, and I’ve bought him some fudge. That’ll have to do.

Lovetotravel

Perhaps this is part of the reason

I had a giggle, imagining us all celebrating in ‘courtly love’ style.

We do exchange cards and a token gift, have something nice to eat and a bottle of something. It is an opportunity to remind ourselves to be grateful for what we have isn’t it?

I hear a lot of people complain about loss of British culture - but as this article shows, these little festivals are hundreds of years old. We don’t have to celebrate by buying lots of yucky plastic (I loved the idea of making salt dough decorations). But it is good to keep them alive.

The first time Valentines Day appeared in the UK was the 14th Century according to Google.

Impossible to blame Hallmark or USA…

Thank you, Allira, indeed another 'first'.

Sending Happy Valentine's Day wishes to all who celebrate.

A load of nonsence. I have never bought into it since I was a teenager! Just another money making load of tosh like Halloween

I'm all for having a bit of fun on different occasions throughout. the year Box of chockies, and a bunch of flowers. Yes. Please.

I think what a few of these posters on GN are trying is to say occasions are now milked to death by business to swell their coffers.

Lots of naff,overpriced junk which people are brainwashed to buy.

When l was a teenager
A boyfriend once bought me an inexpensive small cake in the shape of a heart for Valentine's Day. I thought it was lovely.

So it's the thought that counts.

Allira

Thoughts with all those who will be spending St Valentine's Day alone, perhaps for the first time.

💐

Thoughts indeed for those of us fortunate enough not to buy into Hallmark Day/Supermarket Flower Day.

Thoughts with all those who will be spending St Valentine's Day alone, perhaps for the first time.

💐