Thursday, February 15, 2007

A tradition gone wrong

In case someone didn't notice (living in the Gobi desert or such) yesterday was Valentine's Day. While I think it is a nice idea and tradition to express your apprecation for a loved one in some "extra" way this has clearly gone overboard of late.

Examples: a school here in Zimbabwe got the idea that the students should come dressed in red/white and carry flowers (I am not saying which school, enough to mention that is a highly respected school). This for KIDS not even in their teens or being in the lower teens. A friend's son was so stressed he stayed home instead. I fail to get the point, why should children behave like they are adults and have partners? In Sweden, a country that did not bother much about this event some 10 years ago, it has now reached the point where a school for older children closed on this day to avoid having the children stressed out by either getting or not getting flowers and gifts.

In Zim it used to be somewhat of a competition among ladies who got the biggest/best/finest flowers delivered to the office, and I guess it still is though it seems to have calmed down due to financial reasons.

What I am thinking is that everything can be overdone. Let's try and chill a bit on these things (birthdays and Xmas can be included) so they don't become a stress instead of a joy.