Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
The Daily PollIT’S EITHER ONE of the most romantic days of the year or just an overly commercialised and pointless waste of time.
As anyone who has frantically tried to buy some flowers in a petrol station has noticed by now, today is Valentine’s Day.
So we’re asking: Do you celebrate Valentine’s Day?
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Nah. You should be nice to your other half all year rather than make a big effort on a day created by Hallmark cards. Go easy on the red thumbs!
Can of Devils bit, curry chips and a rattle… Happy valentines love…!
And an apron with hearts on it.
I agree…. But I think it’s also important to show ones partner a little extra attention once and while.
Valentines Day is a wonderful excuse to:
-Treat yourselves to dinner.
-Send your great-granny a dozen roses.
-Treat your work assistant to lunch.
-Remember the lunch lady with a small box of chocolates.
In essence…. Valentines Day can be used to show appreciation to the people who have made your life easier.
It’s not all about being single or coupled…. It’s showing appreciation.
It’s a gimmick, we all know that.
But it’s still nice to get my wife the flowers and chocs. Plus my daughter made us a lovely card. That slapped down my usual cynicism.
Spot on doc
An extra 90 seconds of foreplay guaranteed.
So today you’ll take your boots off first.
Silly commercialised crap in my opinion. My partner of 5 years and I have never celebrated it. This idea of showing someone you care one day of the year is a joke. Don’t give in to hallmark and other big companies profiting from you. It will be a bottle if wine and a Chinese for us tonight.
Unless you have a bottle of wine and chinese every night are you not still celebrating it?! :)
Not really, just a normal Friday evening to be honest. Like we would numerous times through out the year. But if she wants to surprise me in work with overpriced flowers, by all means she can. Massimo loved flowers, especially the overpriced kind :-)
Every year. It’s my daughters birthday.
Would love to but single wish had someone special
I am on the same boat as yourself Richard…..ladies, I’m available
*face palm*
*sobs*
Are there not 364 other days when you can tell your other half that you love them – without having to be seen to be doing it for the benefit of the greeting card industry.
SuperValu have a 50% off special on cleaning products.
Fionnuala WILL be pleased.
Valentines day..when..today..oh shit..shit shit shit
I thought it was yesterday wondered why there was no hype…. Least I surprised my fella a day early.
Yes meslf & Palm are going to celebrate tonight.
What about her sister’s
The five knuckle shuffle….!
What harm is it? I think it should be called make an effort day. Don’t buy expensive flowers or thoughtless chocolates and feck cramming into a pack restaurant. If your single, be brave and ask someone you fancy (if you think you might be in with a chance) out for a drink. If in a relationship yes you should show each other love everyday just do something different together not necessary romantic but use your imagination!!. It’s just a silly novelty day to break up the mundaneness of everyday life!
Agreed! its a day to make that little bit of extra effort that we forget about when busy or preoccupied with normal life. Its easy to say be romantic and show love everyday but its not that realistic. Its good to have a day set aside where both stop what they’re doing and make a effort to show extra care. Am making dinner for my other half and got him some bits and pieces he needs but doesn’t have as he hates shopping. I am not expecting a present but looking forward to spending the eve together and to surprising him with the gift.
Good few years ago, when all my friends were getting flowers and chokkies for valentines day, I asked the hubby why he never buys me flowers or treats, his reply was:
“Good god molly, if I did that you’d want to know what I did wrong !!).
And he was right, I would !.
Anyone know where I can rent a bunch of cats?!
There would be hell to pay if I didn’t
Only reason I celebrate it.is to get a bit of loving tonight.
Great now I’ve got Buddy Holly’s ‘oh boy’ stuck in my head…
For once myself and jamie agree on something. There’d be a quiet, lonely nght if I didn’t
First and last time I’d say leslie
Damn couples and their stupid day
OK I’m not a fan of today, I agree you should show someone you love them everyday, but it is not a scam created by Hallmark or any other company although they do play on it and get suckers to fall for their marketing crap., here is how it started.
The History of Saint Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day started in the time of the Roman Empire. In ancient Rome, February 14th was a holiday to honour Juno. Juno was the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans also knew her as the Goddess of women and marriage. The following day, February 15th, began the Feast of Lupercalia.
The lives of young boys and girls were strictly separate. However, one of the customs of the young people was name drawing. On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man would draw a girl’s name from the jar and would then be partners for the duration of the festival with the girl whom he chose. Sometimes the pairing of the children lasted an entire year, and often, they would fall in love and would later marry.
Under the rule of Emperor Claudius II, Rome was involved in many bloody and unpopular campaigns. Claudius the Cruel was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. He believed that the reason was that roman men did not want to leave their loves or families. As a result, Claudius cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome. The good Saint Valentine was a priest at Rome in the days of Claudius II. He and Saint Marius aided the Christian martyrs and secretly married couples, and for this kind deed Saint Valentine was apprehended and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. He suffered martyrdom on the 14th day of February, 269 A.D.
Legend also says that St. Valentine left a farewell note for the jailer’s daughter, who had become his friend, and signed it “From Your Valentine”.
Lovely story til the clubbed, beaten and head chopped off part!
Thanks for that though, I never actually knew that!
Commercialised crap. Be romantic one day a year because everyone else is supposed to? Someone should look up the meaning of the word romantic. Seriously.
its a bit of crack for teenagers but thats it. must be one of the worst nights of the years to go to a restaurant and is just a Hallmark scam
There is no option for “I do not but my better half does so I have no option!”
Giving chocolates, cards and flowers to your loved one is an interesting way to commemorate a man who was beaten with clubs and stones and then beheaded.
Back in the day cards were sent anonymousely to someone you fancied but hadn’t the courage to approach and was a day just for the young and single. Today the hoopla is all about sales and marketing.
I’ve never brought a hallmark card in my life nor do I intend too. €4/5 for one piece of card! The cheek of them! It’s 3 for €2 for me. So that’s valentines and my mums birthday sorted, all I need now is someone to get sick!!
Commercialised beyond belief.
While I hate what this day stands for, and don’t let hallmark decide when I should be romantic, I will be making that little bit more effort tonight.
That said, you don’t need to spend a bomb to be a romantic. Home cooked meal, make the card yourself, candles and wine.
If she is lucky I might switch the sport off this evening
The ladies love it!
Im romantic guy love romantic nights out but alas am single
Take yourself out, ply yourself with drink, back to yours and take advantage of yourself.
Richard I’m afraid to say if your overly romantic at the start of a relationship your problem perceived to be too keen. Play it cool at the start and through in the old romantic side after a while. That’s my two cent. It worked for me. Happy Valentines day to everyone.
Im not overly romantic got wise head but consider myself romantic
A lot of ‘happily married couples’ who can’t even go a day without having an argument pretending everything is rosy in the garden 1 day of the year…please!
Won’t be doing any commercial crap like over priced cards etc, but will cook a special dinner and have a nice bottle of wine. Mind you we do that for each other quite a bit anyway. Sometimes it’s nice to make an effort and we both love to cook and eat so any excuse really.
Sounds good Heather! Given the awful weather today, I reckon staying home in front of the fire is the best idea!
Its my husband’s birthday today but we usually celebrate it the weekend after as all the good restaurants are packed and the food is always crap!
Agree Avril! Mine was earlier in the week!
Well the happiest of birthdays to you Quillan – hope you were spoilt rotten :)
Unfortunately my birthday is the same week as Valentines so friends/family have often found the selection of birthday cards to be limited as the shelves are stocked with Valentines cards. Same for trying to organise a night out…jammed restaurants or bars serving up expensive and often mediocre food. As a result we tend to go out the week before/after instead. But Tonight it will be a home cooked meal & a nice bottle of wine. I’ve donated money to AHAR after reading yesterday’s article in the Journal and that’ll be my Valentines gift to hubby. That will mean more to him than any chocs etc. There are many ways to show/share love which don’t involve the ‘Hallmark’ products!
Happy Birthday. Love the
AHAR donation as a gift idea. Going to donate again but for our dog this time as she is the absolute love of our lives so that can her valentine gift
Thank you! And as a dog owner myself I can definitely agree with him being the true love of our lives!
I went into the fancy sweetshop in town this morning! Lovely fancy chocolate hearts with I love you! 15e can you imagine 15 quid I would kill him if he paid that! That’s just crazy! If I had that much I could’ve had 3 bales of briquettes! I got him a heart shaped lollipop!
Only because I have to
No, don’t even acknowledge it, let alone celebrate it. Happily married and we make an effort to be nice to each other and treat each other well all year round. The funniest thing about today will be seeing women walk the streets at 5pm trying to wrangle the bouquet of flowers under their arm and a giant card while rushing for the bus and still trying to look doe-eyed with the romance of it all.
I’ve to clean the gaff n make dinner for the other half tonight. I just hope the card and teddy are big enough :(
I assume that the “Valentine’s Day is just a made-up holiday! Hallmarkmoneyracketcommercialisedcrapwhoevenbuysintothatgarbage?!!” crowd will also be on board to decry Paddy’s Day in a month’s time?
High on the fumes of having taken out the White Whale of Arthur’s Day all other made-up holidays must look like fish in a barrel to that finely honed anti-commercialism rocket of cynicism primed and waiting in the hold.
When they’ve stopped those made-up holidays they can move on to the outlying targets of New Years Eve, then International Talk Like a Pirate Day will be slim pickings – If we hit that bullseye, the rest of the dominoes should fall like a house of cards. Check mate!
No more made-up holidays! Only the real holidays like…. ummm, that one…. the religious one? No nono, too commercial. The one with the rabbit and the chocolate eggs? How ‘real’ is that? (Asking for a friend)
OR, if it’s just another day to you, just ignore it.
Let other people waste their money in their own particular way – if people need a roadsign to buy their girlfriend a card then what is that to you?
If they’re crowding your pubs or your restaurants, do you take to complaining about some anti-you conspiracy on any other night when you just can’t happen to get a seat?
On the other hand if you feel there’s “pressure to do something” then you must live in fear of every other ad on tv trying to convince you to buy more eat more cheese, buy more skin cream or whatever.
Where’s the option
‘We all live in fear of the woman and our wallets are at their and the shop’s mercy’
There’s no way out!
Valentines Day is nothing but a money racket
Happy Hallmark Day!
Money racket. If your in a relationship you don’t have to prove you love one another by feeding into the hands of shops charging 40 quid for a teddy bear that’s half price the following day
I never liked the idea of valentines day. If you love someone, then show them it with simple gestures throughout the relationship – cuddles on cold nights, make them tea or soup when they’re sick, cook the dinner once in a while, go out to a movie together… don’t do it on just one day. It’s kind of stupid and it isn’t really lovely or sweet.
You’re expected to be nice today, so it really isn’t nice. It’s like christmas – you have to be happy and caring and loving. And it is so false, it gets annoying.
My boyfriend and I went to the cinema today because The Lego Movie came out today, then we had coffee and came home to watch some tv. That’s our Valentine’s. Nothing special. Just spending time together – like always.
If he bought me flowers or chocolates, I wouldn’t be delighted. He could have saved that money to buy us a DVD when it comes out, or buy us some wine for a night in when I’m not feeling the best.
Jesus, you are a miserable bunch. Nothing new about that for the Journal comments :-(
i really like it but my other half does not so we spent the whole day yesterday not speaking to each other!!
have your say