I have definitely been enjoying my new G10 camera and as a result came back from the Easter holiday with loads and loads and loads of photos. Just going through to select the good stuff, and then tag has been quite a chore… Can’t wait until someone invents something that would intelligently do all that labour for me.
In many ways it actually seems fashionable to go about shouting left and right how every holiday and celebration is commercialized, de-spirited and fake. And of course, most of all the dreaded Valentine’s Day.
I keep hearing over and over again, how it’s bad, because we shouldn’t cherish our loved ones only one day in a year. OK, so does that mean that everyone celebrating Valentine’s Day ignores (or even abuses) their spouse for the other 364. Statements like the above certainly imply so.
Well if you do, than a fake Valentine’s Day celebration is the least of your relationships worry.
Let’s be honest, most of us are not ridiculously rich, and don’t have all days with nothing to do. This in turn means that most of us don’t have candle lit dinners every single evening. Also unless you live near a free flower supply (like say a country side field) buying a bouquet every day would quickly lead to bankruptcy. And how long can you live on love alone with no food nor roof over your head?
Special days like this are just a nice excuse to do something different. It’s exactly the same as with your birthday and/or names-day. It’s an occasion to celebrate, get together, exchange gifts, greeting and generally something to break out of the usual routine. As an atheist I celebrate Valentine’s Day for the same reasons why I celebrate Christmas and Easter - because I like the tradition. Because certain habits are actually nice when done once a year (like eating carp is pretty much the only time I eat fish).
I’m far from saying that you should limit yourself to Valentine’s only. Yes, I personally love surprises, and just as much as I like getting presents I like giving them. Of course you do not need an occasion to give a gift to your loved one, be it a present or just doing something for them that you know they like.
But this is usually the little, everyday life things we are talking about: cooking his favourite dish, using a perfume he likes, smearing nearly all food in barbecue sauce, holding hands, an ad hoc kiss, a hug when he’s watching tv, and many many more. These are the things that can and probably should be done every day (not necessarily all at once, but still).
However for some bizarre reason these little affection showing acts tend to be put together with things that really are nicer when are done on special occasions. They ARE in fact what makes the special occasions special!
Let’s say for argument’s sake that you do have a candle lit dinner every day. Do you really think that after forty years of doing it daily it will still feel magical? Will it still be something special, or is that just going to be come the new routine?
We live in a society that really is highly commercialized and full of consumerism, it’s hard to deny that. In that sense getting a gift on a special day like Valentine’s does introduce the additional wait and excitement. Rather than expect to be showered with gifts all year round, and almost immediately satisfying every whim we have, certain holidays give us the chance to make it something more meaningful.
Admittedly some people do turn it into a bit of a competition to get the largest card, the biggest teddy-bear, and the most impressive bouquet… I do not intend to take part in such race, as do many other people celebrating Valentine’s day, so why condemn the holiday as a whole just because some people go over the top?
It is true that on Valentine’s Day a lot of venues do target couples, and going out as a single might be a bitter reminder that you are alone. It shouldn’t be much of a problem if you are single by choice, should it? That’s the thing, many claiming that it’s their decision, and so on and so forth, in fact secretly would love to find a soul mate.
Now one uncomfortable point is one of the previous arguments: asking for the love and affection parade to be not a one day affair. Would all those unhappy on a single day of increased love expression REALLY want to see it out in the open more often?
I do sympathize with the people that are alone despite wishing it was different. For a long while I was single myself and had to bare with Valentine’s. But you know what? It really wasn’t such a big deal. Yes it did make me feel a bit lonely, however it often also made me realize that I would like to have someone to spend my life with, and it made me think on that day about who am I really looking for. At the end of the day if you really feel so uncomfortable among all those couples that just stay at home for that one night.
Lastly Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be about not having a partner. Why not turn it round and make it the night when you find one? Go for a date, maybe go to a mixed or singles only party, there are many opportunities if you just look at things from the right perspective.
…and I’m not afraid to admit it. I love all kinds of festive occasions. They are something to look forward to, they’re an excuse to decorate your house with a certain theme and maybe do something out of the ordinary.
In some way people are actually afraid to admit that they enjoy the holiday, because everyone else seems to be negative and complaining about it. Just because it is fashionable to say Valentine’s Day is commercial, it doesn’t mean you have to pretend you agree. Even if you agree it doesn’t mean yours has to be like that.
Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone. Enjoy it in your own special way. And to all those on the lookout for their special one, good luck to you.
In Poland Christmas starts early. We celebrate something called Christmas Eve, which is a Catholic tradition that involves a very elaborate supper, though entails refraining from certain foods. The whole family gathers on the 24th of December to celebrate. These can often involve a great many of people including extended relatives.
Despite the Church renouncing the “no meat” rule, most people still consider it as tradition and in general if you are vegetarian you would feel at home. The day starts with a light breakfast and often nothing more until the evening, as it is supposed to be a fast. Some of the dishes would be prepared beforehand, while others are done during the course of the day.
Christmas table setting
There are different stories about the traditional number of dishes Christmas Eve should consist of - 6, 9 or 12, with the explanation for 12 being that it is the number of Apostles. However what Apostles have to do with the birth of Jesus is beyond me. When it comes to what the dishes are it can vary greatly based on the region.
My own family’s course choice seems to mix up several regions, however considering we live in Wielkopolska, its customs have probably influenced us the most. Also as for us Christmas is more of a tradition, and a cultural event, rather than a religious one, we do not really abide all the rules. Here is the list of our 12 courses:
Extra plate
One typical custom in Poland related to Christmas is leaving one extra setting at the table. The tradition states that any guest is welcome, and if someone knocks on our door you should welcome them in and sit them at your table and share your food with them.
Symbolically we are showing to be more hospitable than the people of Bethlehem. Unfortunately it is more of a symbol as a tv undercover survey has shown a couple of years ago. Most people they asked were not willing to guest a true stranger in their home.
So much for the hospitality I guess.
Polish Opłatek
Traditionally children are employed to stare through the frosty windows into the sky to spot the first star. This would mark a sign to begin Christmas Eve. Unfortunately often it would just be done in theory as a sky full of snow clouds prevents any stars from being seen.
Before everyone sits down to the meal we all share a symbolic “bread” called opłatek. Each person gets there own piece which they then go on to break with others while exchanging wishes of good luck and prosperity.
Our Christmas Eve favourites are Mushroom soup and Barszcz (beatroot soup). The later being a great match for pierogi (dumplings). Often my mother would also bake her own bread sticks with sesame or poppy seeds.
There are many ways to serve Barszcz, however in my house we use neither cream nor beans. This broth based soup is created by adding beetroot, marjoram, and a carefuly measured amount of vinager. The final product is similar in consistency to broth with the vegetables sieved out for use as filling for the dumplings.
Fried Carp
Most Poles cannot imagine a Christmas Eve without carp. British newspapers seem to love to exploit this fact to produce sensational news about immigrants fishing straight out of local ponds and rivers. It generally is a bizarre concept in the UK to eat fresh water fish.
However as I have a British survivor as my witness, yes, carp is not only edible, but quite nice when fried and served with bread and sauerkraut.
There is one downside though, you do need to watch out for the tiny bones as they are easy to choke on.
Pierogi
As mentioned before we do not adhere to the tradition a 100% and the more customary dumplings with sauerkraut and mushrooms have been swapped for meat filled ones. Pierogi do come in a myriad of varieties from cream cheese with salt or sugar, through fruit filled (commonly strawberries), or sauerkraut and mushrooms filled, to meat ones.
Our version is a handy way of getting rid of leftovers and utilising the stock from broth and barszcz. The filling is vegetables and different types of meat mixed into a pulp and then placed inside the dough for cooking.
Barszcz And Noodles With Poppy Seeds
Most Christmas Eve dishes are quite savory, however there is one exception. An old fashioned desert consists of noodles mixed together with poppy seeds and other ingredients such as in this year’s case: raisins, almonds, nuts, and orange peel. All this together makes for an intresting treat, standing out against the masses of chocolates available everywhere.
Christmas Compot
Secondly this Christmas we also had compot. The Christmas variation was based on dried fruit like plums, pears, apples, and cranberries. Served cold, this soup like drink again was not too sweet and sat well with the taste pallet of the rest of the supper.
Traditional Christmas Deserts
The three cakes rulling my family’s table every Christmas are: cheesecake, gingerbread cake and cookies, and poppyseed cake.
The first one is not really a seasonal thing. The cheesecake is more of a family tradition, as my grandmother makes the best one in the whole world. Because of that every time I come home I get treated to a delicious gift.
The other two cakes are a lot less of a personal preference and can be found in many more Polish homes during Christmas time.
Lots of Presents
As everywhere else in the world we do indulge ourselves in the gift giving tradition. Unlike the UK or the States however we open presents on the 24th of December just after supper. As my family has no small kids there wasn’t any Santa Claus visit, instead one of the younger members gets designated to hand out presents to everyone else.
Christmas sweets
Many of the gifts are various kinds of sweets, and the cakes mentioned above are served while people open their presents. Often gifted sweets are shared out among the guests together with the home made cakes.
In Poland people have not yet gone as far as in the USA when it comes to decorating their homes, however we do like to pretty things up. At my home we usually have many twigs and pine like decorations, including pine cones. Moreover there is an abundance of things like gold and red elements, stars, bows, bells, baubles and angels.
Window Christmas Decorations
As the table is the main focal point of Christmas Eve, the table obviously gets a lot of attention. In our case the table is just next to the big bay window, which is also a prominent feature in the living room.
White Christmas outside
Outside the house we also hang Christmas ornaments, again not as impressive as some of their American counterparts. However thanks to the lovely climate as you can see in the picture above we are often gifted with a stereotypical white Christmas.
