PRELUDE

DO UNTO OTHERS...

Next Wednesday is one of those days, the ones that come once a year but with the ability to destroy relationships and strengthen some forever. Whatever the reasons are for celebrating St Valentine's Day one can not deny that it's big business for gift shops and retail stores in general. A chocolate company inserted an empty envelope in a newspaper and urged lovers to buy their chocolate brand on Valentine and send it to their flame in the custom made envelope. See, they give a free envelope, not a chocolate, which you should buy.

Interesting, the immediacy that commercials on television switched from Christmas, to Back to School, then the focus shifted to Valentine's Day. After the 14th it will be Easter bunnies.

Very few people know how Valentine's Day came about, with some allegations that this boy named Valentine was martyred on February 14 by Roman soldiers, all in the name of love. It's then interesting because it means that one needs to find out when did Romeo and his girlfriend Juliet commit suicide because that can become a new day named Romeo and Juliet Day which will make sense because there are already many films and dramas about them, but Valentine. The issue here is the sudden spending spree that comes with it and the commercialisation of love that accompanies modern expressions of love.

One chronic lover who says men have no choice but to be chameleons said that the danger is that if there are many women who believe in it and if a man is going to be stiff and say he is not going to buy any gift or card for his girlfriend or spouse someone will do it for him. Thus, a man must first ask his woman if she believes in this day and if she says 'yes' he must believe as well. It's a woman's world, wouldn't you say?

St Valentine, if he ever existed, and according to available information was not a woman. Is it possible that women are so charmed by this day because a potential husband was killed and not because he died for love? Would they still be chaffed if he was killed by a woman? Also, why can't the hordes of women who will dress in red on Wednesday ask themselves that if there can be drawings of Jesus Christ and Adam and Eve, why can't there be drawings of St Valentine so they can analyse if he was a stud or some bearded misogynist?

A walk down some gift shops in Nelspruit, White River and Hazyview indicate that they have already stocked lots of stuff for the potential customers of the day. One wouldn't want to act like a communist and snuff the flame with allegations. The solution is, if you believe in the day, go out, wear red, buy a rose and a little gift and say the words, 'I love you', hoping that you mean them.

If you don't believe in it like Thembinkosi Dlamini (Zola) who says that Valentine's Day should be everyday, it's cool, but if your partner believes in the martydom, weigh whether you are ready to lose them over a silly 24-hours of redness or you can play along, because quite frankly, Valentine's Day is life and death for others.