THE VALENTINE OF PARIS – HOW TO CELEBRATE THE FRENCH WAY
We just celebrated my mom’s birthday. Happy birthday, mom! (Again 🙂 )
Although Valentine’s Day is supposed to have a romantic twist, I’m happy that this blog post coincides with such a great event.
OK, here’s your romantic twist: mom and dad have, in my opinion, one of the most romantic relationships.
Yes, they have been married for a long time, but I’m not going to label their relationship “a marriage” simply because one doesn’t have to be married in order to build a beautiful relationship.
My dad is a lucky guy. Mom too. And all of us around them.
Here’s to love!
(This week: the verb AIMER – to love)
Valentine’s Day is an interesting holiday, in ways that have escaped most of the western world.
The current well-known story of St. Valentine began out of many myths. There were many Valentines of the past, many of which were martyrs, some of which were Valentinas.
The versions of the various stories of their relatively unknown lives are also in many numbers.
There’s more unknown than it is known about St. Valentine.
So how have we become so sure?
So how did we end up with such a clear-cut idea of St. Valentine to the point where we base an entire holiday on it?
How did this narrative become so unified and canonical from such a sea of hearsay and unknowns?
It has something more to do with the values of that story. Values of true love and communication, commitment and connection, the willingness to place love as the highest standard, enough to martyr oneself for its continued existence.
These are the values that have survived the unknown.
They’ve been pieced together over the ages to become the story we all now know too well.
The stories are mainly of Italian origins, but celebrations of Valentine’s Day can be found all across the world, especially in Paris.
The French seem to take Valentine’s day more serious than the western world, maybe because they understand the value of true connection.
For them, dating is a puerile exercise because they do not need such a social elimination contest in order for them to be able to meet and have real connections with each other.
Perhaps out of the rest of the world it is Paris where this holiday is best celebrated.
It’s where you can truly get the true sense of what it’s really all about.
Written for J’Ouellette by Zen Politics
NOW IT IS YOUR TURN!
Tell us in the comments below, what is the first person that comes to mind when you think about Valentine’s Day?
Let me guess.
Do you constantly have the feeling that you can’t hear what the French say and you don’t know how to read all the French words because they are written so much differently than they sound?
Learn 3 secrets that will help you be self sufficient in the way you pronounce French words – even if you don’t know what they mean – so that you can read that sophisticated menu in your favorite French restaurant.
Immerse yourself as you FINALLY reach your dream of becoming bilingual, learn to speak Parisian French on Skype and BREAK your language barrier!
…and now, please SHARE this article with your friends. They’ll love you for it! : )
Always in your corner,
Llyane
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
My lovely wife is who i think of 🙂 This was a great article! My wife and i spent our 1 year anniversary in Paris and want to return so badly 🙂
So happy for you, Kyle!
Thanks for stopping by, and all the best to you and your wife 🙂
I am not a huge believe in valentine’s day. I find it overly-commercialized (along with all of the other annual holidays). BUT I would imagine Paris being the most beautiful and romantic place on earth… Paris being in my list of places to visit, I will make it a point to be there on Feb 14th 🙂
Commercialization of Valentine’s day, mother’s day, Thanksgiving can affect us as much as we let it to. As long as it is heartfelt, who cares what the corporation do with a day or another? Gong on this path can make us discount any birthdays and new year’s days… And yes, Paris is magical (no marketing needed to point this out) 😉
To be honest, I do not celebrate Valentine’s Day. However, I love how people who take it seriously make arrangements to celebrate, book dinner tables, buy gifts for each other etc. I know that all that is not needed to show someone how much you love them, but it sure is a very nice thing to do for your loved ones.
Absolutely, it’s not a good idea to fall for the marketing side of it, but it sure is a very romantic way to do it, when it’s heartfelt.
I love reading about how Parisians view Valentine’s Day. The French seem so romantic. I am single, but my mother always sends me a card so that I never have to feel “alone”. I also have a group of close girlfriends, and we do Valentine’s Day dinner together and share in the love of our friendship. Happy Birthday to your mom, aren’t mom’s the best!!!
Oh, mine is! And it seems that yours is too (I’m watching Gilmore girls now too 😀 )
Thanks for the wishes!
Love your video and your thoughts on Valentines Day. I personally think of my husband, however we don’t celebrate Valentines Day. Everyday should be a day to appreciate your loved ones!Happy Birthday to your mum 🙂
Thank you, Reena, for stopping by and for the wishes!