Greetings! Sociology, like the other social sciences, requires the analysis of theory and practice. So, thinking about the cultural celebration of Saint Valentine’s Day in the United States answer the following two questions.
1- (Theory) What would make an ideal St. Valentine’s Day for you?
2- (Practice) How did you spend this St. Valentine’s Day?
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Colleen Hester-online
ReplyDeleteI would love to spend Valentines Day with the person I love! I dont need anything. I am always watching my weight so I dont want chocalate. I dont have to go to dinner, cooking togerther would be fine. I think when I was younger it was important to do all those things, but as you get older you realize it's not about what you get me. It is about matters of the heart. I think if the persom I was with surprized me in April and said Happy Valentines Day that would be great!
Colleen Hester-online
ReplyDeleteI spent Valentines with a friend! It was alot of fun. My boyfriend and I got in and argument over Valentines Day!
I would rather just spend Valentine's day at home with the one I love and friends. Being broke makes it hard to go and blow money on gifts. I'd rather have someone cook me dinner or make me card. I spent this Valentine's day working a double so i didn't do much of anything.
ReplyDeleteCheyenne M
My theory is that you shouldn't need a special day to do something for someone you love. So while it's nice to do something I really don't expect anything out of the ordinary.
ReplyDeleteMy boyfriend and I went out on Saturday night to a resturant called Aqua Blue; First time eating there, it was REALLY good. Not too bad price wise either.
Yesterday I went to church, then spent the day with my daughter; We painted then took like a 2 1/2 hr nap.. Went out to eat with my mom, her boyfriend, my daughter and my boyfriend to On The Border last night.
Ashley Lawson
An ideal valentines day would have been me in Florida hanging out with my cousins like i was supposed to be doing. Instead I went out to O'charlies on valentines day with one of my ex's and a mutual friend and then came back to my house and watched weeds. what fun...
ReplyDelete_Nick H
I am going to be completely honest with this one. Here goes, my ideal valentine would be my significant other making me my favorite dish and giving me a massage until I fell asleep. Does not get much better than that. But since that will never happen I will have to go to plan B. My plan B Valentine's Day would be spending the day with my significant other and making sure we are both having a fun relaxing time, but also showing that I care for her. I think it would be nice if me and my girlfriend, fiance, wife, whichever, made dinner together, had candles out, light music in the background and a peaceful relaxing night overall.
ReplyDeleteSince I am still a young, single guy, and I do not have a significant other yet, I worked all day. Once I got off work I called my buddies and we all got on Xbox live and played until we were tired. That's pretty ideal for me any day, minus the work, but it just happened to be Valentine's Day.
-Tyler Stevens
To me Valentine;s Day is overrated. I really do not care if I do anything or not. I can go out to eat somewhere special anytime. I can show my love and affection anytime. However, I will celebrate Valentines Day if it is important to the person I'm with. If I have to answer the question the perfect Valentine's Day for me would be to go on a nice vacation to a sunny island with beautiful beaches. I would eat lots of seafood, sleep alot, and sample the culture of the island. This Valentine's Day I went out to eat at a nice restaurant and then I went to a comedy show. My theoretical Valentine's Day does not match what I have practiced. This is only because I do not have the money to do such things at this time, but if I did I definitely would.
ReplyDeleteRashida Matthias online
In response to Ashley Lawson I definitely agree with you. You do not need a special day to be with someone you love. I'm all ready with that person everyday anyway. Also, I don't need for my loved one to spend money on me to show me they love me. I all ready know that.
ReplyDeleteRashida Matthias online
Lying on the deck of a sailboat, sailing up the west coast, just a far enough out to see the outline of the coast, in the sun, with that special person, kids in college, retired and steaks on the grill.
ReplyDeleteReality check, at home, cooking steaks on the grill in the cold with snow on the deck, 3 y/o eating her dinner and continiously talking, 1 y/o, tired and wanting my attention, wife tired and worn out from being sick. But hey,the steaks turned out great and actually got the little down before we ate. It's not the movies, but I enjoyed it.
Ashton Showalter (Online)
ReplyDeleteTheory: The ideal St. Valentine's Day for me would consist of my boyfriend of six years, possibly a card or other form of flattery (nothing expensive...just a lil' something something to know he remembered me on this day), a dinner cooked at home, and just quality alone time with my boyfriend.
Practice: Our friends ended up comming over for the majority of the day and evening. Happy Valentine's Day was only said, although I got him a card and some candies (sheesh), we did spend quailty time together over a pizza. Not the meal I had planned, but hey-it works, and spent more quality time watching the winter olympics and going to the store.
Nothing goes as planned on Valentine's Day for me usually, but hey-the most important thing is my signficant other was present throughout the day.
Ashton Showalter's (Online) response to Joseph Gates:
ReplyDeleteHey-look at it this way. You've got the people that mean the most to you around you, you ate steak alone with your wife, and she was present. Soon enough you will have that perfect Valentine's Day on that sailboat deck. :)Life seems pretty good for you! Kudos!
Kamilla McNac
ReplyDeleteAn ideal St. Valentine's Day to me would be with my Valentine(My boyfriend) Enjoying ourselves romantically. You know a little soft music, a glass or two of wine, a nice home made dinner with all the fixins. and of course the next day should be a off day because I will not be going to sleep until we see the sun come up. I spent this Valentine with my boyfriend and we laughed and talked about our plans for the future. Yes we did have the nice meal but I didn't cook. And I could not stay up nbecause I had school the next day! But overeall I woulde say I had a slightly romantic time with my VALENTINE!!!
An ideal Valentines day for me would probably consist of a couple spending the day together maybe going out somewhere special and enjoying a nice dinner. For me it seems I was meant to assist people in their audio and video investments. I had to work all day.
ReplyDeleteIn theory my ideal Valentines Day would be spent with the people I love. We would just do anything as long as we were together.
ReplyDeleteI spent Valentines Day with my family. We went out then everyone came over to our house and just hung out with one another. So it worked out for me.
-Radwa Hassan
To me Valentines Day is just another day made up by the Greedings Card company to make more money. It is just another day for me and I did not do anything special. I do not need some made up holiday to let the love of my life or my son know that I love them very much. Me being there supporting them and giving it my all and getting that back from them, is enough for me to be loved and give love. Love is not some gift in a box, it is what you say and how you treat each other. Love is in the hugs and kisses.
ReplyDeleteNatalya W.
An ideal Valentines Day for me would be spending time with that significant other. Stay at the house and relax. Basically have fun. I spent sunday at work. Fun stuff..
ReplyDeleteCraig Z
I had the ideal Valentines Day that I wanted. We don't need a special day to remind us that we love one another...but it is still nice to wake up to roses and card from the hubby, and a homemade card from my son. My parents ended up taking my son so we actually got to go out to eat without him and had a great sushi meal. Then we just came home and rented a movie. It was the exact Valentines Day I wanted. Valentines hasn't been really a holiday we celebrate in my household since my brother died on February 13, 1994. It has always been hard to feel all romantic and lovey dovey when you are mourning the loss of a loved one after all this time still. But again it was nice to wake up to something and feel special even though I did not expect it.
ReplyDelete1-Theory: An ideal Valentines day for me would be to spend the day with a woman that I loved. I would spend the day catering/ pampering her to let her know how much I cared. I would refrain from the cliche "let me take you out for a nice dinner;" I would tap into my culinary skills and put some real time and effort into preparing a perfect, candle-lit dinner with the finest wine for some quality time. I would create a sentimental card from the heart(no hallmark nonsense your using the anothers words as your own) and present her with Godiva chocolates and a dozen hand picked roses from the nursery. To set the mood, romantic music would be playing in the background(just low enough to set the mood and not drown out the conversation). To top the mood off I would give a subtle toast to her beauty and my love for her everything. Then, I would spend the evening in romance treating her like the bonafide rarity that she is.
ReplyDelete2-Practice: I spent this valentines day with good friends and good company. I thouroughly enjoyed myself (lol even though I was 9th wheel) hanging out with people that I care about.
Tiffany Jordan-online
ReplyDeleteValentines day is not a big deal to me but its still nice to make time with someone you care for. I would like to have a nice dinner either at a restaurant or cooking together and go see a movie. My valentines day was exactly that. I went out to eat at a italian restaurant kind of a tradition and then i saw wolfman. It was a good valentines day. Not expensive but still a good day.
Valentine's Day exsists for two reasons. The first, since most men historically are insensitive to a woman's needs, is to give us guys an opportunity to make up for our romantic shortcomings over the previous 364 days. Secondly, it remains on the calendar so that Hallmark and Russel Stover can make up for otherwise unimpressive sales numbers.
ReplyDeleteMy ideal Valentine's day would be spent at home with my wife and two children or at a Nascar race with my buddies.
I did the first, to my delight.
Keith Hendershot
The ideal valentines day for me is to go to Sparta Georgia where im from and lounge around the pond fishing during the day. At night i would love to go to Milledgeville for a nice dinner then come back home, and start the truck up n go riding dirt roads with a cooler full of beer and my hunny by my side. Yeah i aint a romantical valentines day but i aint that romantic. This past valentines day i went bowling with some of my friends because my husband is over seas in Germany right now.
ReplyDeleteStephanie Smithwick
Kerri Bertram (online):
ReplyDelete1- The ideal Valentine's Day for me would be spending the day with the person(s) i love and cherish the most. I'd love to have just dinner and a movie or something simple like that. It's all the little details of the day that mean the most to me.
2- This past Valentine's Day, I spent it with my boyfriend and my sister and her boyfriend. We went to lunch together and just had a good time. For dinner that night, we got all dressed up and went out for a nice dinner. It was perfect. I couldn't have asked for anything better.
In response to Keith Hendershot:
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that it is a pointless holiday! I love how you put it in such great terms! I do believe that is the best way it could have been explained!!
Kerri Bertram (online)
An ideal Valentine's Day would be to have the day as a Federal Holiday so one can spend the time planning a date if they haven't already or just to get a day off lol. I would spend my day relaxing and getting pampered by my love one.
ReplyDeleteDana Cook-Online
ReplyDeleteMy ideal Valentine's Day would be to have my husband home with me, laughing, smiling, and looking into my eyes. I would be able to feel his arms embrace me and feel the security that they bring. I would get to experience that special loving feeling we have when we are together. We have been apart for a little over two years, and he will be returning to me in September. I can not wait until that day. My loneliness will desipate and everyday then on will be Valentines Day for me.
This Valentines my car was broke down and it looked like it was going to be pretty gloomy. But I was taken by surprised when I answered a knock at my door and there stood my father-in-law, sister-in-law, and my two nieces. They had drove two hours to surprise my children and me. They took out for a nice dinner. I have to say it was a pretty awesome Valentines. We really felt special and loved for them to come all that way and surprise us.
My ideal Valentine's would be exactly how I spent it. My sweetheart came over and started kissing me to wake me from my slumber. Then we spent a little time together before he had to go pick up surprise, which of course I couldn't get out of him. After he left I started getting ready for the day and anticipated his arrival. When he returned he brought me a bundle of gifts, took a few pictures for good times and memories. After that we were on our way to a nice dinner. My real ideal of Valentine's is just spending it with the people I love, but the gifts don't hurt either haha.
ReplyDeleteJami Phelps:
ReplyDelete(1)My Ideal Valentines day would be breakfast in bed along with flowers and a teddy bear! then a romantic dinner and evening!
(2)My Valentines this year was great. seeing as my birthday is the same day i usually get spoiled :) i got cards and gifts from friends, family, and my boyfriend. then we had a big breakfast my mom made me. then we had red-lobster for dinner with my parents, boyfriend, and friends! it was perfect.
Valentine’s Day has significant meaning for me and my husband. We decided to get married on Valentine’s Day six years ago. Before that it was already special. We always make it a day to celebrate our love for each other. We do that on a regular basis, but Valentine’s Day is just an extra special day to show each other what another year together means. We have been married for six years, but we have spent 17 Valentine’s Days together.
ReplyDeleteThis past Valentine’s Day we made a reservation at Houstons. It is almost always the only day of the year that we decide to go to a more expensive restaurant and have things that we don’t normally get to enjoy. After that we went out for a little dancing and a few drinks. On top of that, we usually share memories of our years together laughing about good times.
Jacqueline Williams - Online
In response to Keith Hendershot:
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you on the point that Hallmark and Russell Stover completely love and keep this holiday going! Without it, they would no doubt go broke.
I also agree that many men wait until Valentine's Day to do something special for their wives and only then because they feel obligated. But on the bright side, at least those wives can feel special on that day . . . so maybe the holiday isn't completely useless.
Jacqueline Williams - Online
MEGAN PAYNE--ONLINE
ReplyDeleteThe best way to spend Valentine's Day is with the person you love on a beach with a bottle of wine and the best chocolates you can find.
The way I spent Valentine's Day was with the person I love the most on the beach of Tybee Island, with a bottle of red wine, and chocolates from river street sweets. It was a great Valentine's Day.
IN RESPONSE TO JOSEPH GATES:
ReplyDeleteSounds like you had the real Valentine's Day. But hey you already have the most precious gifts anyways!!
Megan P.---Online
My ideal valentines day is spending time with my sweetheart. It doesn't matter how we celebrate, but I like to go to dinner and rent a few movies. This valentines day we went out to dinner at Ryans, then went to Walmart and bought a movie where he showed up with tulips and a teddy bear.
ReplyDeleteSuzie C. (online) In theory, the ideal Valentine’s Day for me would be to spend it with my loved ones. If I was married I would want to have a romantic dinner with my husband with all the traditional trimmings such as candles, chocolate, flowers and jewelry. If single I would spend the day with people I love. In practice, I spent the day alone. My daughter is away at school so I was not able to be with her. My mother was out of town so I was not able to be with family either. And as luck would have it I was extremely ill with a fever and nausea so I definitely did not want to infect my friends either. Oh well, there’s always next year. But on a nice note, I made huge Valentine’s Day packages for my daughter and three of her closest friends at college. I sent these so that they would arrive t before the actual day. I had almost as much fun as if I had actually been there. As I packed chocolates into personalized heart tins, hand-colored fancy personalized cards, wrapped little Valentine’s socks, and hand baked chocolate chip cookies I was able to enjoy the spirit of love that Valentine’s Day is all about.
ReplyDeleteSuzie C. (online) In response to Christina Denton: Sounds like you had the perfect Valentine's Day. You are right, it really is about spending time with your loved ones. And the gifts are visual symbols that represent the love they have for us so the gifts are important. And you are smart in taking pictures as a photographic log of happy times. In later years you can look back at these pics and remember the happy times.
ReplyDeleteAntoryeal Nunley "ONLINE"- I think what would make an ideal Valentines day is spending it with the ones you love the most. With me its my two kids which are 8 and 2. Spending that day just embracing and encouraging one another and just plain oh have fun day.The day is supposed to be about love and for me its love n play. I spent my day by having a nice breakfast with them we went to church and went out to eat after wards and came home and just relaxed not doing to much playing board games anything my two year old can walk on,lol. Also, letting those other people in my life know that I love them dearly meaning my mother and friends. To me Valentine is what you make of it. It does not mean spending all you have but just giving and getting TLC.JUST LOVE.
ReplyDeleteAntoryeal Nunley "ONLINE"
My ideal Valentines Day would be spending the day with my love ones showing them my affection. It doesn't neccessarly mean I have to spend money left and right. It can be a simple I love you to a dinner at a fancy restaurant. Belive it or not the cheapest thing is what means the most (In my opinion).
ReplyDeleteI started my Valentines Day visiting my grandparents. I brought my Grandmother a rose and she enjoyed that very much. I was with them till about 5 pm after that I spent the afternoon with my husband. We spent it at home and had a very nice dinner.
In response to Radwa Hassan
ReplyDeleteI agree 100%... Funny thing is that I spent most of my valentines day exactly that way. I think you don't just have to be with one person and show that one person that you love them. I want to share that day with all of my love ones(Family & Friends)..To remind them that love them.
Of course as anyone would say they want to spend it with someone they love and care about. Although its a holiday thats blown out of proportion and reminds those without a love of a depressing reminder. When your with someone its a great holiday to celebrate.
ReplyDeleteI'm not actually sure what Valentine's day is all about. I am sure I learned a couple of times what the history and background of the holiday is, but by now I have pushed that information to the back of my head. I don't celebrate national holidays because of my scriptural beliefs, so the fact that I don't give much thought to the holiday each year is another reason I don't know what it's history. I do know what it is about; love and doing loving things for others. This should be the 'norm' every day of our lives...
ReplyDeleteI agree with Cheyenne above, I wouldn't have done anything even if I did celebrate the holiday because I'm so broke! I always enjoy spending time with my family and close friends, enjoying their company. That is what I was doing anyway, my family had a dinner and lots attended. It was a good time.
Candice A. Online
My most ideal Valentines day would be spent with my boyfriend or family. The day would start off by making breakfast together then we would spend the rest of the day at the beach and return later in the evening to make dinner.
ReplyDeleteSingle or in a relationship i always love Valentine's day because it reminds me how blessed and grateful i am to have such a loving family. This Valentine's day, just like every other began with my dad giving me and my other sisters a box of chocolates, a card and a notebook with a pen. Which sounds silly because i'm not quite sure how the whole notebook and pen tradition began but it stuck. Being single, i didn't have a hot date or anything so i spent the day studying and watching season one of Lost. That night my dad cooked a very nice dinner for our entire family followed by,as tradition angel food cake with strawberries and whip cream for dessert.
Hannah McAlpine
ReplyDeleteSince my boyfriend of two years and I broke up a couple months before Valentines day, I thought it would be a hard day to celebrate. But it was actually one of the best ones I've ever had! I spent the day with my sister, my brother-in-law and my nephew, who was my Valentine this year. We went to eat at the Melting Pot, which is absolutely fantastic and then rode 4wheelers in the snow. So, when I think of my ideal Valentines Day, I think I had it this year. Of course, being in love with someone and having them there with me wouldn't have hurt haha