LUCK AND LOVE

This year, Valentines’ Day and the Chinese Lunar New Year are being celebrated on the same day. While Valentines’ day is fixed to February 14, the Chinese Lunar New Year is movable depending on what date the second new moon of the year falls on the western calendar.

These two annual festivities are not as well celebrated here in the Philippines as Christmas and New Year; Lent and Easter; All Saints and Souls Day. Their recent popularity however is rising because of the mass media which dictates trends and lifestyle. The mass appeal of these festivities can be seen in the economic activities related to such events. Afterall, every celebration is impossible without spending time and resources.

There is no argument about the reason for such celebrations. Just imagine how drab and meaningless life without us marking the passing of time as we relate them to every event of human existence. The romanticism of Valentines inspires us to love and be loved in return. Although this feast carries the message of love, it is focused only to the aspect of romantic love (e.g. eroticism) and not the kind of love that encompasses physical and emotional barriers. Meanwhile, the Chinese Lunar New Year is a celebration that is marked by rituals to usher in luck and prosperity. Because of the success of the Chinese immigrants and Filipino of Chinese heritage in the business world, this festivity became very popular to Filipinos who wanted more than anything else but to attract wealth. Living in a country like ours can be truly difficult because of the lack of opportunity that many will turn to believing in luck just to get ahead in life.

However the festivities become almost trivial because it was masked by too much commercialism. It has evolved as an opportunity for the more enterprising among us to profit from. There is nothing immoral about wanting profit. It is the purpose of every business to earn. The issue is whether it is worth our money to spend on things that are non-essential especially if we constantly live on insufficiency.

Surely, we all wanted to attract more money and get the most from our intimate relationships. These are the bottomline why we have Valentines and Chinese New Year celebrations. Yet, even if we just drown ourselves in the excessive celebration or do the required rituals at the expense of practicality, there is no guarantee that luck or love will come our way.

Indeed, the best expense of our time and resources are worth only to those that are guaranteed to last. The fleeting moments of romance can be good to spice a relationship but true love thrives not from these. The ritualistic prayers, superstitious beliefs and luck paraphernalia to gain wealth and prosperity are worthless without knowledge, hardwork and determination.

Valentines Day and the Chinese Lunar New Year are happy occasions that remind us of how endless are the possibilities in life. As long as we spend wisely our time and resources we shall be prosperous. If we live sensibly enough, we don’t need luck to follow us. Whenever love-relationship is elusive or difficult, you can always bring out the best in yourself and soon you’ll find that love will naturally gravitate towards you.

Have a fun-filled Valentines’ day and a prosperous Year of the Tiger!