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On Valentine's Day, lovers show appreciation, buy gifts, write poems, pluck their nose hairs and what not... or do they? We've asked numerous students their opinions on Valentine's Day, whether they celebrate it and why. Interestingly, their views were always somewhat contradicting that it was hard for us to conclude whether the average Bruneian student does or does not celebrate the Western festivity. In an interview conducted several weeks prior to Valentine's Day, it was found that roughly every one out of two students did not celebrate the love-honouring day, but gave different reasons for this. Quite a number of them believed it was against their religion to acknowledge Valentine's Day, while a few said that it was a waste of time and money. “It's just an excuse to empty your wallet,” said a Valentine's Day sceptic. On the other hand, the students who did glorify Valentine's Day felt that it was necessary to take one day of the entire year to show exceptional amounts of love and appreciation to your loved ones. “Sometimes we take our loved ones for granted,” said Rainbow Deer, a Valentine's Day supporter, “so it's important to remind ourselves of what we have and remind our loved ones how we feel about them [on Valentine's Day].” One student couple chose not to take sides in this debate. The couple, who wished to be dubbed 'Mr. and Mrs. Hulubalang Captain,' stated that while they did exchange Valentine's cards last year, they believe in showing love and appreciation to each other every day. “We always get gifts for each other,” Hulubalang Captain said, “and our exchange of cards last Valentine's Day was just another one of those times.” The teachers had different opinions for Valentine’s Day. “I do it for my wife,” said Mr. George of the English Department. He celebrates Valentine's with his wife by taking her out for dinner. He thinks that Valentine's is a nice idea as it makes someone focus on their family and forget about work life for a short while. However, some do not celebrate this day. Miss Angela, the teacher in charge of Yoga and Stretching Club, said that she does not celebrate Valentine’s Day and presented a very interesting question: “Why do we need a special day to celebrate with the one we love?” Indeed true, we should love a person everyday and not just on a special day. Another teacher, Sir Zaki from the Design and Technology Department, opposes the celebration of Valentine’s Day. His reasons are due to religious beliefs. He told MS Minute that he doesn’t mind non-Muslims celebrating it but he disapproves of the idea of Muslims acknowledging it. As with the student couple, some teachers chose to remain neutral and not to stand for or against V-Day. We interviewed a group of female teachers who wished to remain anonymous, and they said that they see Valentine's Day as any other ordinary day. The best they take out from it is the promotions offered in restaurants and stores. Labels: Features ★ |