大象传媒

From Rae Duke, Religion and Ethics teacher and broadcaster.

I know I needn鈥檛 remind anyone of what day it is on Friday! Those 24-hours devoted to St Valentine and his lovey-dovey connotations have taken many shapes and forms for me over the years. At primary school, the day was an excuse to craft plenty of cards, innocently dropping them off on people鈥檚 desks and gleefully finding a few on your own.

Secrecy was the name of the game. At secondary school it was, pretty much, ignored - at least it was at my all girls鈥� school! Fast forward a bit and my boyfriend at the time thought it was a top entrepreneurial idea to buy hundreds of mittens from America large enough for two people to hold hands inside 鈥� they were called, of course, Smittens (!). 聽He then sold these romantic innovations to chilly looking couples on his University campus. No prizes for guessing my present that year鈥�

Then there was the time eleven years ago when I鈥檇 replied brazenly to my now husband earlier in the week after he鈥檇 messaged asking me out for a drink. He suggested either the Friday or Saturday 鈥� and knowing that Valentine鈥檚 Day fell on the Saturday, I plumped for then. (Happily embracing cupid鈥檚 arrow, with a dash of commercial trickery, being in our midst.) Our first taste of, as Guy Garvey put it during his Desert Island Discs: 鈥渨ith every romantic notion come 10 practical questions.鈥� Isn鈥檛 that just true!

There is though, I think, real dignity to be found in daring 鈥� even if just for a day, to put yourself out there, admit your feelings, take a risk鈥� It suggests hopefulness and genuine heart to heart connection. And two hearts 鈥� whether those of family, friends, partners or pets (!) 鈥� are, as Bruce Springsteen sings, 鈥渂etter than one鈥�; his song inspired by words from the biblical book of Ecclesiastes where it says pragmatically, 鈥淭wo are better than one, because they have a good return for their labour. If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.鈥�

This song always reminds me that love is not a noun but a verb; it鈥檚 the active experience, the glitter-soaked card creation, the handholding, the raising of each other up. And any celebration of that, whether cheered on by an internationally marketed holiday or not, is one I cherish.