Do you support 'Valentine Day'

[Stormcry]

The question concerning kissing or hugging in public or semi-public places on this VDay?

 

[StarryNightshade]

Why would I be against it? Granted, I don't really celebrate it myself, but there is nothing inherently wrong with Valentines day.

To me, it's just another day.

 

[Chakra]

I'm quite indifferent about Valentine's Day. Love and affection is not condemned in our scriptures, but life should not revolve around your partner alone.

 

[Maya3]

A special day devoted to love. That can only be nice.

Maya

 

[Rival]

I don't need one day out of the year to tell my friends and dear ones I love them. It should show all the time.

 

[shivsomashekhar]

The question concerning kissing or hugging in public or semi-public places on this VDay?

In my opinion, this is purely a cultural thing and has nothing to do with religion. There is nothing Hindu or "unHindu" about it.

The world is changing and India will inevitably change too. Rigidly holding on to a past culture can only cause frustration.

 

[Aupmanyav]

I don't. Not in our milieu. I am just waiting to get the news about how many girls get raped on that night. It happens regularly.

 

[Poeticus]

I don't really have a problem with the day, per se. But what does frighten me, or rather discourages me, are incidents of "traditional Hindus" going to parks and hitting couples that hold hands or display public acts of affection, all in the name of modesty or something "traditional" which, ironically, is Victorian in origin. This also applies to going into bars or clubs and beating up women that drink alcohol or are simply there with their dates and/or friends. But I'm with Rival on this, love for those that are dear to one should be shown all year round. Valentine's Day, in my opinion, is more of a marketing day than anything else, masked as something special but just another money-making scheme that has lost its socio-cultural importance.

 

[Don Penguinoini]

Just like Christmas, it's a commercial holiday so I always bear a sense of resentment on that level.

But otherwise, find it impossible to disagree with the concept of Valentines Day. It's actually nice, if anything. However the fear is that Valentine's day is associated with the high levels of promiscuity as are in the West. But complaining about such things would only make me a hypocrite.

 

[ratikala]

namaskaram , .

..

I don't need one day out of the year to tell my friends and dear ones I love them. It should show all the time.

jai jai , .....infact ithink we should establish saint valantines dwadasi , ....a day on which we should go and hug all our enimies and people who usualy anoy us ....

none of this kissy kissy noncence though !

.....failing that at least a freindly hand shake ...

 

[Shantanu]

The question concerning kissing or hugging in public or semi-public places on this VDay?

I should say that love between a man and a woman should begin with marriage and be kept private rather than be on display to the public. Secondly, marriage has a function in society as I have read somewhere (I wish I had kept that Twitter reference that someone pointed this out in) that Hinduism considers man to be incomplete without a woman and vice versa. This makes it a religious union and therefore sacred.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Here is the first case. Investigation, of course, will reveal the whole truth (it could even be a frame-up):

Victim’s boyfriend lured her to his house on pretext of celebrating Valentine’s Day where he and his friends raped her.

The police arrested the woman’s boyfriend and are currently on the lookout for his friends. The woman said in a statement that her boyfriend had lured her to his house on the pretext of celebrating Valentine’s Day together. On reaching his house, she found two other men waiting there. The woman claims that the men were her boyfriend’s friends, who spiked her drink with sedatives and then raped here.
Hindustan Times, New Delhi, Feb. 15, 2015

 

[ratikala]

namaskaram

Here is the first case. Investigation, of course, will reveal the whole truth (it could even be a frame-up):

Victim’s boyfriend lured her to his house on pretext of celebrating Valentine’s Day where he and his friends raped her.

The police arrested the woman’s boyfriend and are currently on the lookout for his friends. The woman said in a statement that her boyfriend had lured her to his house on the pretext of celebrating Valentine’s Day together. On reaching his house, she found two other men waiting there. The woman claims that the men were her boyfriend’s friends, who spiked her drink with sedatives and then raped here.
Hindustan Times, New Delhi, Feb. 15, 2015

these kind of stories are so sad and it is for this reason that I have to support the old system , ...a girl should not be going to the boyfreinds place , so even though I was not born into the vedic system I am in agrement with much of the aranged marriage system , ...I am not against a person choosing their own partner providing carefull consideration as to suitability is given , but I am fully in support of no intimate premarrital relationships , ...because it can lead to situations like this , ....and many other unfortunate situations , ...

 

[ratikala]

@Aupmanyav , ....

my appologies , ..I canot like your post because of the awfull subject matter , it just dosent seem right , ....but it is of great value to cosidder the possible abuse of such situations , ....I know that most young women think that is is silly to be so over cautious , but a girl should never be alone in a non public place with any man and should not accept drinks , ...it is asking for trouble , ...it is true not all men are bad it is only a small proportion , ...but girls and their families are right to be cautious .

 

[Aupmanyav]

The simple thing that we old folks want that people act in a way which is suitable to the society where one lives and the environment. Going against that creates problems. The subject matter is horrendous, if true, and could have been avoided.

 

[LuisDantas]

Do you feel that the appropriatedness of celebrating Valentine's Day (and which would be the acceptable forms) is a function of the social mentality of each community?

Specifically, the OP asks

Do you support 'Valentine Day'

The question concerning kissing or hugging in public or semi-public places on this VDay?

Would the correct answer be consistently uniform? Or should it be customized according to geographical or social community, belief system, or both?

 

[Aupmanyav]

It should take into consideration many things. In a village in Central India, a Hindu Muslim couple may/will lead to a communal riot. In Bengal /Assam less so. Perhaps it will be OK in a Christian community but not among Hindus and more so among Muslims. The Dangers are more in North India than perhaps in Karnataka. There will not be one answer to all these situations. And rape (especially gang rapes) incidents have increased many fold. It is wise to be cautious (considering what Hindus term as Desh and Kala, whatever is appropriate to the place and time).