Hyvää Ystävänpäivää!
That is what all the Finns were saying to each other today. In Finland Valentine's Day is a bit different. A literal translation of the title is "Happy Friends Day". The pronunciation...well, I'll try to phoneticize it. Hoo-va Oo-sta-van-pie-va. Hey, that worked out better than I thought.
Yes, instead of all this romantic junk we talk about here in the US on Feb. the 14, across the Atlantic they are celebrating friendship. The colors are still red and pink but the emphasis is almost completely off the romance. It takes all the pressure of "I don't have a boyfriend/girlfriend, oh my gosh, I'm an outcast, no wait, I can't let people know that so instead I'll just be anti-Valentine's Day and pretend like it doesn't matter because I'm so cynical and cool." practically all off.
There you give a nice card to a friend, call up old aquaintances, and otherwise make an effort to show them how much they mean to you. If you have a boyfriend or a girlfriend than that's fine, but everyone is thinking about their friends.
There's no changing what Valentine's Day is in the US, but think about how much less stress and depression it would save for a lot of people who aren't secure and aren't saved and take it really seriously, if instead of emphasis on romantic dates and roses, it was a time when they could expect an encouraging card from a friend and in turn encourage their friends.
I'm not bitter about Valentine's Day and the romance, I look forward to the day when it will hold special meaning for me, but for everyone of us whose life dating doesn't have a part in for the moment, have a wonderful Happy Friend's Day!
Yes, instead of all this romantic junk we talk about here in the US on Feb. the 14, across the Atlantic they are celebrating friendship. The colors are still red and pink but the emphasis is almost completely off the romance. It takes all the pressure of "I don't have a boyfriend/girlfriend, oh my gosh, I'm an outcast, no wait, I can't let people know that so instead I'll just be anti-Valentine's Day and pretend like it doesn't matter because I'm so cynical and cool." practically all off.
There you give a nice card to a friend, call up old aquaintances, and otherwise make an effort to show them how much they mean to you. If you have a boyfriend or a girlfriend than that's fine, but everyone is thinking about their friends.
There's no changing what Valentine's Day is in the US, but think about how much less stress and depression it would save for a lot of people who aren't secure and aren't saved and take it really seriously, if instead of emphasis on romantic dates and roses, it was a time when they could expect an encouraging card from a friend and in turn encourage their friends.
"A cheerful look brings joy to the heart
and good news gives health to the bones."
Proverbs 15:30
posted by quirkychild at 11:36 PM
1 Comments:
That sounds pretty nifty.
In practice it's almost exactly the way I celebrated Single's Appreciation day. I got together with my friends and played fun, relationally constructive games.
Hyvää Ystävänpäivää to you!
Post a Comment
<< Home