Valentine’s Day, the day of love, gift giving and enough chocolate to make you sick. For many it’s a highlight in the calendar, a chance to spend time with loved ones and express their affections. For others, a greedy capitalist holiday that reminds them just how lonely they are.
Yet this year Valentine’s Day is set to be a little different for all. 2021 brings us our very first Valentine’s Day lockdown edition, a pandemic remix of the lovey-dovey holiday.
Just how will Valentine’s Day look in a year full of lockdowns, social distancing and self-isolations and should the occasion even go ahead?
Writer Jessica Rowe states-
Cancel Valentine’s Day!
So I’m all for cancelling Valentine’s Day this year. I came to this conclusion quite out of the blue when I was asked to write about the wonderful artist Dmitry.
I quickly realised just how problematic the holiday may be this year due to Covid-19. Many young people are more isolated than ever, suffering from the effects of depression, loneliness and a sense of sadness many of us have been unable to shake.
Valentine’s Day is a reminder for so many of their loneliness, the day highlights our solitude in the best of times and leaves many of us down in the dumps.
Add to that the context of 2021; in a year where many are already so isolated and alone, do they really need a day to make them feel worse? It’s no secret that people’s mental health has plummeted in these strange times, with many struggling to handle the stresses of a pandemic, and the solitude of a lockdown.
This year won’t just affect the unlucky singles out there, but those with partners that can’t be together this year. Now more than ever Valentine’s Day won’t feel like a day of love and affection, but a day of lament and aloneness.
This Valentine’s Day will be a reminder of everything we’re missing out on in this pandemic, company, physical touch and affection.
Covid-19 has already brought us a wealth of loneliness, unhappiness and solitude, we certainly don’t need Valentine’s Day bringing us anymore!
Journalist Chloe Mogg disagrees-
Don’t cancel the occasion, let’s celebrate Valentine’s Day in a new way…
Should we cancel Valentine’s Day?
Shortly but sweetly, no.
It’s a basic necessity to be loved and sharing love with others. Now more than ever, the world is needing more of it.
February 14th will obviously be different, but we already knew that was going to happen. Every single day of the Pandemic so far has been different and uneasy, but we’ve all learnt to stay present and go with the flow of things.
Why not turn a gloomy day in Lockdown into something you’ll remember for years to come?
Valentine’s Day shouldn’t just be for people in relationships, it should be for everyone. Everybody deserves love, especially during these uneasy times. Many couples, and people in platonic relationships, have spent almost the past year apart and deserve to be loved even more.
Do something different this Valentine’s Day. An important thing to remember this year is to not have any expectations. Be spontaneous remotely, or if you’re already in lockdown together, and celebrate love. Remember, love conquers all.
To the couples and friends that live together, here’s some ideas on how to spend the special day;
– Make arts and crafts
– Bake a cake
– Go on a nice walk together …and to the millions of people out there who are loving someone from a distance, whether it being platonic or a romantic relationship;
– Have a dinner date over Zoom, and a well needed catch up
– Send a surprise gift to them that will make them smile.
– Use Netflix Party (or another platform) to watch a film together.
To EVERYONE on this strange day… listen to music! Music is another love language that speaks fluently to different cultures.
There’s a live-stream from husband and wife, folk-pop duo Toby & Pip over on Instagram on Valentine’s Day from 9pm that we highly recommend you check out.
A couple that breathe love throughout their music, Toby & Pip soothe the soul with their heartfelt tracks, and I, for one, will definitely be tuning in.
An important thing to remember this year is to not have any expectations. Be spontaneous remotely, or if you’re already in lockdown together, and celebrate love.
As The Beatles famously put it ‘All You Need is Love’, and we definitely all deserve it at the moment.
skype – quitegr8
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