February 14 was celebrated to honour one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentines during Medieval times. In High Middle Ages when the tradition of courtly love flourished, Geoffrey Chauser wrote in Parliament of Foules:
For this was on seynt Volantynys day, When euery bryd comyth there to chese his make (For this was Saint Valentine’s Day, when every bird cometh there to choose his mate)
This was written to honour the first anniversary of the engagement of King Richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia. From then on, this day is associated with romantic love.
This day was commercialized in 1797 when a British publisher issued The
Young Man’s Valentine Writer that contained scores of sentimental verses for the young lover unable to compose his own. Today, Valentine’s Day is celebrated the world over by young people as a day to express love to loved ones through the giving of flowers, confectionaries, cards and candlelight dinners.
I met my other half in 1999 and both of us can never forget our first Valentine’s Day together in 2000. We were already madly in love by then but it was the thing to do for young lovers and on that special day, 14th February 2000, I was a young man on an important mission. It was a Monday, we had breakfast together and dropped her off for work at Clara after wishing each other Happy Valentine’s Day, I raced to the florist with whom I had preordered some rare tulips from The Netherlands a few days earlier. I wanted to pay her to ensure that my rare tulips will not end up with someone else’s Valentine.
This was not a day for work, I told myself. I was on a mission. After ensuring everything was in order at my pirated VCD retail outlet in Berjaya Megamall, I dropped by the jeweler where I had ordered a gold necklace with a heart shaped pendant with “You are the Love of My Life” engraved on the back. Next on the list was Parkson Grand to look for something special to go with the necklace and decided on Winnie the Pooh. I will put the necklace round Pooh’s head and the tulips between Pooh’s arms. Mission was almost accomplished.
Next on the list was the steak house on Jalan Teluk Sisek. I went to make sure my booking is confirmed and all. By lunchtime, everything was going according to plan. It was then time to groom myself and made me so irresistible and off to Maroon, my hairstylist. I was going to be her Prince Charming.
Right on the dot at 6pm, dressed in my best shirt, jeans and shoes; I went to pick her up from work with Winnie the Pooh. As I walked up the flight of steps, I felt excited and had butterflies fluttering in my belly. She was already dressed and ready. She was so beautiful and I love her to bits. I held her hands tight as we walked down the flight of steps and once in my Cherokee Jeep, we kissed and said “I love you” to each other. She thanked me for the gifts and told me the tulips were lovely. She was an observant girl and still is, and noticed the necklace right away on Pooh. She rewarded me with more kisses. Our Valentine’s Day was going great. I put the necklace round her lovely neck and more love was expressed. Then my Nokia started ringing. It was the steak house. There was some complication and I was told that our table will only be ready by 9pm. I was not happy but I was not going to let that ruin our momentum. She said it was not a problem as she was not hungry yet. So we went for a drive and stopped by Teluk Chempedak and had a walk on the beach while other couples were having their romantic candlelight dinners.
We were at the steak house at 9pm but were told our table was not ready yet. Apparently another couple was still occupying our table. I have no qualms about people trying to make more money by squeezing in my bookings but be honest about it. We finally got seated at 9:30pm and the waiter hurriedly set the table and gave us the menu. We decided on Seafood Cocktail and Asparagus Soup for starters; Veal and Mixed Grill for our main course; some ice cream for dessert and of course a bottle of Le Chateau vintage red wine.
The waiter came back to us 15 minutes later to take our order and dropped us the bomb! Disaster struck. We have to order from the Set Dinner menu, either A, B or C; we were told! Why the heck you gave us this menu then, I told him off. I looked at her and she nodded. We stood up and just walked out. We ended up having our romantic Valentine’s Day dinner at 10:30pm Taman Gelora public car park with Prosperity Chicken Burgers meal from McDonald’s Drive Thru’.
I can understand the big fuss PAS and JAKIM are making over Valentine’s Day every year but in my opinion, in a free society, people should be allowed to make their own decisions as long as what they do are not against The Law of the Land.
We no longer celebrate Valentine’s Day on 14th February. After 12 years, that steak house was no longer in business; Telok Chempedak has not only McDonald's but KFC and Burger King too but I believe our love be forever sparkling bright. So come this 14th February 2012, it will be our 13th Valentine’s Day together and I am forever grateful that we are together and will always be together. For me and my Love of My Life, everyday is a Valentine’s Day for us, today, tomorrow and forever.
I LOVE YOU, my Love and the Mother to 3 lovely girls and a very Cute and Handsome boy.
HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!