the high court of love

I'm not sure how I feel about valentine's day. it's really a celebration that came out of nowhere, and by nowhere I mean the fiction of geoffrey chaucer. he wrote about it as if it were a tradition in his parliament of foules when really he was creating the tradition himself. it has nothing to do with various martyred st. valentines. nothing to do with ancient pagan traditions. pretty much, it's been commercialized and consumerized since the 1840s. the only thing I can find to approve is the "high court of love" it inspired in france in the 1400s that dealt with betrayal and violence against women, as judged through poetry, of course.

I think my favorite inversion of western "tradition" is the way south koreans (according to wikipedia, who knows?) celebrate it. on valentine's day, women give men chocolate. on march 14th, the men give candy back, but not chocolate. on april 14th, everyone who didn't get anything on valentine's day goes out alone and eats black noodles. that's probably the best day to meet someone you know, the only people you see out are the single, depressed ones like you.

also of note: saudi arabia banned valentine's day as un-islamic and shop-keepers are forced to remove all red merchandise. result? a black market for roses and wrapping paper. we will express our ridiculous sentiments on a made-up consumerist holiday, regardless of the violent government threats! I'd rather keep my husband alive than have a rose, thank you very much.

prolly my favorite is the coinciding chinese "night of sevens" when the cowherd star and the weaver maid star, who are separated by the milky way "river", can cross it and meet on the 7th day of the 7th month of the chinese calendar. what's more beautiful than star love legends? hmmm not much. it beats the brazilian week of sex and debauchery at any rate.

in conclusion: handmade is best, flowers are wonderful but not on valentine's day or they cost fifty bucks and that's ridiculous, chocolate's okay but not preferred, props to fine, delicate jewelry in good taste. if you give me a teddy bear, I will promptly decapitate it and give it back.