MY favorite little misunderstood holiday.

Earlier this year you wrote about your favorite little misunderstood holiday, and now I have to speak on behalf of a very controversial one that I have come to love. (pun so very intended)

As anyone who knows me knows, my actual favorite holiday is St. Patrick's Day followed by Christmas, New Year's, and fourth of July in no particular order. But it hit me last year just how important Valentine's Day is.

Valentine's Day gets a bad rap because it comes with a lot of expectations and awkwardness, but I really don't think it needs to be like that! The other day I was watching a show and a girl said "I love Valentine's Day." It was so refreshing to just hear someone say it and not care how that made them seem. So much better than a single girl insisting that she hates Valentine's Day and that even if there was someone in her life, she wouldn't be celebrating it even though secretly she is wishing that it was the norm to just celebrate it no matter what because pink and cupcakes and decorations are always a good idea. yep. easier to just say you like it.

First of all, February 14 is the dead middle of February. If you're a summer girl like me, you aren't that great of a mood for most of the winter months due to lack of fuel (aka sunshine). No wonder we have a holiday that's all about love in the middle of winter!

Second, it doesn't have to be about romantic love - it's just a day to say that you love the people in your life! One of my favorite little traditions when we were little was mom would have a little surprise for us on Valentine's Day. Some years it was a little pink outfit for our American Girl dolls, some years it was a card from Charlie, some years it was a little balloon from Publix. I think we should do more little stuff like that for Valentine's Day! Just celebrate that there are people in our lives that we love and appreciate!

Third, it's very colorful!

Fourth, if you do have a sweetheart, it's nice to have a date night set aside. I never have celebrated Valentine's Day in a relationship, but this post convinced me to consider it in the future. Of course it's a little cliche to go out to dinner (and REALLY cliche to go to a movie), but isn't cliche just a cynical word for tradition?

Furthermore, it makes me very sad to hear people say they hate Valentine's Day. Because this is the day of love, it makes me feel like they don't know they are loved and thus have no one to celebrate with. I used to be this person because I thought it would save me a lot of time and awkward situations, but the fact is, I think it's a great idea to have a day where we are all consciously nice to one another during a month where it's easy to be really snappy. I think a big reason that certain women feel the need to hate Valentine's Day is that it helps play into the "guy's girl" persona. They use hating Valentine's Day as a way to differentiate from the flakey girls who love Valentine's Day for totally selfish reasons. But I say forget that - if you like something then who cares! Just like it and be proud of that!

So here's my proposal to stop being afraid to like Valentine's Day and to just spend the day showing the people in your life that they are worth being loved and celebrated :)