Valentine’s day?

I don’t get this Valentine’s day thing. I first heard about it in 1990, fresh out of high school. It wasn’t a big thing back then in India. Someone called me to wish me ‘Happy Valentine’s day’. No idea what it was. They told, ‘St.Valentine was a Roman saint who died on this day. His favorite activity was to marry off couples in love.’ So he did. But, why wish people around “Happy” Valentine’s day? Alright, this love message exchanging could be for people who are on the lookout for partners, but why in the world does my pre-schooler have to exchange ‘Valentine’ cards with her classmates? When my DS (now 7) was 3, a colleague told me that I should send a bunch of Valentine cards on V.day, for him to exchange with his buddies. I went to a drug store, got a pooh bear or something similar, box of cards, opened up that night to sign his name. Lo and behold! These were the phrases on those cards which were meant for young kids to exchange – ‘You ring the bells of my heart’, ‘Be mine’, ‘Love you forever’.. I made my own cards for him that night. Eversince then I sift through the packs to make sure there is no garbage which is not meant for young children not yet in the mating market. I do not take DD (now 4) to store when I have to buy these cards. All she cares is about princesses and the color pink. Guess what this disney princess tamasha is all about, finding a prince to get married, fall in love, kiss the guy, exhange ILUs and live happily ever after. Wrong message to our girls! Life is a lot more than that, don’t you think? Anyway, I buy the simplest cards around, with just ‘Happy Valentine’s day’ or snoopy’s cards which have funny riddles on them. The day ends and they come home with the goody bags. Goody bags for birthdays, goody bags for Feb 14th, for President’s day, for Easter, for St.Patrick’s day, for mother’s day, father’s day, my day, your day….. the list goes on. Do they really need that goody bag, filled with sweets? I am a little over 30 and H is 40. We do not have a single cavity. DS and DD have 3 or 4 cavities already. I have always, always taken good care of their teeth. Can’t do much about what they munch when I am not around. I am waiting for a change in people’s thinking, for them to realize that children don’t really need goody bags just because it was an important day on the calendar. They need to know the importance of all those days sans food. Yes, please, without food.