At my work (The Little House, which is a small kid’s clothing boutique in Fairway, Kansas) every February we have a special visitor come to our shop. His name is Tim Arnold, the Silhouette Man. His specialty is cutting out the faces in silhouette form out of paper of the children who come to our shop. It’s an event that both workers and customers look forward to, and on both days he’s here, he is completely booked.
It takes him about five minutes per kid. I’ve seen him work, and it looks exactly like the kid! I don’t know how he does it, but it is truly a special art! All the parents enjoy the framed artwork of their kid, and the kids love coming to the shop that day as well (usually because we put out cookies).
I recently saw a notification on my Instagram that he was in town this week, and he is usually here for Valentine’s Day. Although I’m at college this year and won’t be able to work the event, the notification reminded me of how fun (and stressful) the yearly event is.
But more importantly, it reminded me that love doesn’t always have to be about being in a relationship or dating. Love has many meanings.
Typically, Valentine’s Day is used as a time for couples to celebrate their love, either through a romantic date or chocolates and flowers. I think the holiday is defined as romantic love at least in modern times. But the original Valentine’s Day was Saint Valentine’s Day or Feast of Saint Valentine. Originally it was a Christian holiday, celebrating romance and love. There are some translations that say the name Saint Valentine means spring.
The sending of chocolates, flowers, and gifts actually came from the UK and spread in the late 19th century, but many other countries had different traditions involving the holiday before more modern times.
Fun fact! Now the countries that spend the most money on Valentine’s Day are East Asian countries like China and South Korea.
Despite this holiday historically being celebrated as a romantic day, more traditions of other types of love are being celebrated. I’m sure a lot of people have heard of Girlentine, which is when a friend group of girls gets together for Valentine’s to spend the night together. I’m not sure if there is a boy version, but either way, it’s a good way for single people to spend a fun night together with no pressure of not being in a relationship.
I know elementary schools also do fun Valentine’s Day celebrations each year. Honestly, Valentine’s Day was my favorite holiday at school since we got to make our special Valentine’s box and then pass out Valentine’s to everyone. It was such an exciting time to go home and be able to open all the Valentines, read the cards, and eat the candy!
Also, with COVID this year, many people will be spending the holiday inside instead of being able to go out. Some people are living with their family and have to spend the day apart from their significant other. Many can take this opportunity to have a good time with their family and make it a good excuse to just buy chocolate and eat it.
There are many types of love in the world: romantic, platonic, family, self-love. Valentine’s Day can really bum people out who aren’t in a relationship, but they just have to realize that it’s okay. You don’t have to be alone this holiday. It’s fine to spend the day with family or friends or coworkers.
Especially after the crazy year, we’ve all had, it’s important to remember that love is all around us, through many different forms. I look at the Silhouette man and how happy he makes the parents when they get to see the artwork of their children. Of how those parents will cherish that and put it on display in their house, proudly showing off their love for their children. Love has many different forms, and all should be celebrated and embraced!
