This holiday is like none other, being a testament to a saint that we really don’t know anything about. Chances are very high that he had nothing to do with romantic love, and it’s only through a series of mistranslations or inventions that it’s even connected. But it’s stuck, and Valentine’s Day is here for awhile. It’s probably a good thing, because it reminds us that this is what makes life worth living, after all, unless we’re saints, and fortunately, we are not. In Singapore, it’s still a big day. This is a great time to book a fine meal out, and plan to have an evening celebrating with the rest of this island city-state.
Valentine’s Day nearly and neatly coincides with the Chinese New Year, so there is certainly a feeling of festivity in the air. During the New Year’s celebration, women will throw mandarin oranges into the river to ask for their soul mate to come to them. This is significantly related to Valentine’s Day for one very good reason. It points out the idea that there are many people who are not in a couple on this day, and it can be absolutely maddening to see so many people celebrating happiness. There are also plenty of statistics that suggest that romantic happiness does not visit very many, nor for very long.
This might seem to be suggesting that the holiday not be celebrated at all, and Valentine’s Day in Singapore be overthrown and let the New Year have it all. On the contrary, couples who can make it through another year and still claim happiness do deserve all the rewards that the world’s cultures can offer them. It may be a perfect night for whispering carelessly sweet nothings, or to act impulsively, and let Cupid’s arrow strike you for a chance to dance with the prettiest and the handsomeist, but it’s also the time when the spirits of the old year have left, and the new ones are gathered, and renewal is, indeed, in the air.