Justifying My Second Favorite Holiday//October 135th, 2023

 If you've known me long enough, you know that Valentine's Day is, and pretty much always has been, my second-favorite holiday. 

People who don't know me as well, though, are always shocked to find this out...and basically just shocked that there is someone in the world who loves and looks forward to Valentine's Day, in general. 

I've honestly never understood the negativity. I mean, I suppose I can see it if you have some sort of awful memory tied to the day, or something along those lines, but to loathe the day just because it exists? It's never really made sense to me.

I guess the problem is that most people see it is a holiday only for people in romantic relationships, but my memories of Valentine's Day extend far beyond the relationships I've been in. 

The fact that so many people seem to perceive Valentine's Day as being so exclusive, is honestly bizarre to me. 

Maybe it's because I grew up a shy, unpopular kid, but to me, growing up, Valentine's Day was one day of the year that was about inclusivity. Maybe it was a little silly, but on Valentine's Day, your classmates, more or less, had to include you, and treat you like part of the gang for a day. Everyone got those punny little cards, and it just generally felt like a day to celebrate whatever or whoever you love, be it in a romantic way, a friendship, a pet, even a hobby or interest. And the decorations were always so cute. I think another big thing that made me love Valentine's Day as a child was that it seemed like a happy, colorful break from the dismal weeks of winter that set in once Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's were over. You go from having so many exciting holidays in a row, to just nothing. Valentine's Day, back then, felt like somebody shining a light into a dark room. There actually wasan episode of the kids' the series Arthur that comes to the same conclusion. 

I don't know why my interest in Valentine's Day didn't die off as I got older, but it seemed to only get stronger. And, as I've talked about every other year since I've had this blog (previous years' entries can be found under the tags for "Valentine's Day" or "Valloween") Valentine's is actually a great time to be a spooky person. Halloween and Valentine's Day have long seemed to go hand in hand, with romantic notions seen on vintage Halloween cards, and spooky characters and sentiments portrayed on vintage valentines. 

It's almost hard to tell which card is supposed to be for which holiday, isn't it? 

And of course, there were plenty of vintage valentines that were creepy without intending to be. Possibly creepier than any Halloween card of the same time!

This image looks straight out of a horror film. Like, if I'd seen this as a child, the nightmares would be endless. 

Not fully sure what's going on here but I feel like it's cursed. Is she meant to be dressed like a sea monster?

I can not and will not be convinced that these images don't go together, and the girl isn't in the weird butcher kid's freezer. Also, why is did they have to go so far as to depict the dead goose's floppy, broken neck? They could've just made it a rump roast, or something. 

Spooky was always a part of Valentine's Day, probably more than we even realize, and nowadays, I think Valentine's-time is when you're actually most likely to see Halloween imagery during the layman's "off-season." For the past couple of years, Walmart has hopped on board in selling more Nightmare Before Christmas themed stuff during this time, and this year they even added some horror character mugs to the mix with the inclusion of Chucky and Tiffany of Child's Play fame. Spooky artists also seem more likely to bring back the pumpkins and ghosts when Valloween is near. For all those memes that say "let's replace Valentine's Day with a second Halloween", it looks like we may already be there. And history seems to show we have been, for a long time.

No matter who or what it is that you love, or whatever it is that makes you happy, that, to me is what Valentine's Day is meant to celebrate. And, if you'd like it to be, it's certainly a good time to also celebrate all things spooky once again. 

After all, what greater love is there, than the love of Halloween?

Stay spooky, my friends.