HWN Suggests

In defense of Valentine’s Day, the most maligned holiday

It’s taken me nearly a decade of marriage, but I’ve finally come to terms with the fact that I actually really love Valentine’s Day.

I’m hugely cynical about branded opportunities to buy things and romantic love as sold to us by movies and magazines, yet my husband and I celebrate this manufactured consumer holiday every year with a bottle of delicious wine, a cheese plate, and sparkling conversation. I’ve always considered it an appointment with fun in the midst of a particularly bleak stretch of winter. As our lives have changed, it’s become an important ritual, one crucial to maintaining not just baseline sanity, but even a semblance of connection as we navigate the midlife crunch…

read full article

Featured

  Is Valentine’s Day Canceled?

No matter how intellectually dumb we think Valentine’s Day is, it never offends anyone to be thought of - Amy Van Doran.

  This Valentine’s Day, Take Love Lessons From the Astronauts

Accept your ‘full reality,’ keep little rituals alive and remember you’re still — yes, still — in it together.

 For the birds? Hardly! Valentine’s Day was reimagined by chivalrous medieval poets for all to enjoy, respectfully

Chaucer and Granson reimagined the already existing Valentine’s Day festival to celebrate the potential beauty of love itself. In a world where forced and child marriages are still all too common, it is important to reflect on Chaucer and Granson’s visions.

 Galentine’s Day has become a thing – why hasn’t Malentine’s Day?

On Feb. 13, women will celebrate Galentine’s Day, a holiday trumpeting the joys of female friendships. The holiday can trace its origins to a 2010 episode of “Parks and Rec,” in which the main character, Leslie Knope, decides that the day before Valentine’s Day should be an opportunity to celebrate the platonic love among women, ideally with booze and breakfast food. In the years since the episode aired, the fictional holiday has caught on in the real world.

 How We All Screw Up Valentine’s Day, Year After Year

On Man Up, therapist Lori Gottlieb talked to Aymann Ismail about the actual importance of the day—and the day to day.

 The Type of Love That Makes People Happiest

When it comes to lasting romance, passion has nothing on friendship.

Articles of Interest

Ancient spells and charms for the hapless in love

Roman magic may have been a cathartic experience for the heartbroken or an exhilarating one for the lovestruck. The idea that people will do whatever is within their power to find love belongs to a long and ever-evolving tradition. These spells, rituals, tokens and curses highlight the essential nature of love and heartbreak in the ancient world and implicitly connects our cultures across time.

Like many relationship stories, the history of St. Valentine is full of torture and pain

Valentine’s Day may be beloved by romance-flushed individuals keen to express their passion, and by retailers for the massive windfalls of cash it generates ($18.2 billion in the US this year) in cards, toy bears, and items adorned with hearts, but for others—the single among us, for example—it’s a painful reminder of the primacy society gives to couples, and an exercise in hollow consumption.

Lonely On Valentine's Day? Celebrate Love That Reaches Beyond Romance

Maybe the only people really happy on Valentine's Day are couples completely infatuated with each other, and since that's already a gift, I'm not sure why they need their own holiday. That's like a charity for rich people, or setting aside a day so we can all pay more attention to celebrities.

Love Is: A Crowdsourced Valentine's Day Poem

Instead of greeting cards and chocolates this Valentine's Day, poet Kwame Alexander has packaged up for you a poem inspired by kids' definitions of love.

The Biggest Valentine’s Day Myths of All Time

Cupid can in fact be thwarted.

The myth of romantic love may be ruining your health

But we do know that socially constructed notions of romantic love, and of marriage, constitute our selves. They start in early childhood and continue throughout adolescence and adulthood. Google “romantic love” and see what comes up. We develop expectations, consciously and unconsciously, about our love relationships and attempt to realise these. When these notions are unattainable, stress is inevitable. And the impact of stress on our immune system, heart and mental health is well documented.

The New Valentine’s Day Is Coming for All Your Relationships

The holiday isn’t just for couples anymore. Does that make it better or worse?

The Shape of My Heart

Where did the ubiquitous Valentine’s symbol come from?

The ‘real’ St. Valentine was no patron of love

Valentine’s Day, in fact, originated as a liturgical feast to celebrate the decapitation of a third-century Christian martyr, or perhaps two. So, how did we get from beheading to betrothing on Valentine’s Day?

Valentine's Day wasn't always about love

Some say it began as a wild pagan festival. Others blame Chaucer. But who is Saint Valentine and why do we celebrate him?

Valentine’s Day Isn’t About Love—It’s About Obligation

Admit it: You don’t want to go out tonight, specifically. You’re doing it because you’re expected to, and that’s making you resentful.

Valentine’s Day: Did It Start as a Roman Party or to Celebrate an Execution?

It’s a great celebration. But where did it come from? And why do we care about it so much?

Resources

Leave Cupid Alone, You Snobs

I’m not a brainwashed moron for sincerely loving Valentine’s Day.