Some things in life are clichés for a reason, be it quotes which inspire you (be it to challenge your personal record at the gym, or eat the last piece of chocolate), or to add a sense of relatability. But come Valentine’s Day and some of these clichés are definite no-no’s, and can lead to you signing off the day completely regardless of being in a relationship or not. Here we go through our top picks of clichéd behaviour traits seen in sunny Sri Lanka during February 14th. 

Unsolicited Advice 

 

If you’re in your 20’s and finding your place in the world while making a career for yourself, sorry; because come Valentine’s Day, friends, family, colleagues and the aunties from next door, will start to wonder what’s wrong with you. This will inadvertently lead to them giving you advice, but only because they are desperate to cure you from being single. Most often than not however, all this unsolicited advice will do, is leave you feeling worse than before, and questioning things which would normally never bother you to begin with. 

The advice can vary depending on whether you’re dating or not; but they follow the same train. If you’re single, you will be told to stop being so picky and that “every pot has a lid”, and that your attitude was simply scarring away all the potential suitors. If you’re in a relationship, your modern thoughts won’t fly, because you will be expected to settle down into a patriarchal relationship, and start making a family. 

Regardless, this (possibly) well-meaning and unsolicited advice will most likely see you dwelling in self-doubt, feeling guility about your relationship status, all whilst binge-watching ‘How to Get Away with Murder’. 

The Music And Campaigns 

 

Every radio channel you turn on will be dedicated to playing the same smoochy music (sometime for the entire duration leading up to the day of), which will more than likely force someone and their significant other to hold hands while pretending to be oblivious to the pooling sweat. 

Want to go shopping and find something nice without the hassle? No such luck there either, as there will be no reprieve from the campaigns run by various stores – be it one selling candy, jewellery or clothes. Most often than not, these campaigns will call for a public declaration of your affections, for the reward of a candlelit dinner for 2. During this dinner you will most likely have to conform to the traditions of gift-giving, which leads us to, 

The Presents 

 

Valentine’s Day *should* be about celebrating the life you have and your loved ones. As far as clichés go, yes, you should celebrate love throughout the year with your family and the near and dear. And there are some who avoid the commercialization of the day and treat it like any other. 

But this gets a little harder to do in Sri Lanka. Gift shops advertising customized edible bouquets (of which I approve throughout the year), regular bouquets (which cost roughly a month’s rent) and jewellery pop up, sending everyone scrambling whether they want to or not, to find the perfect gift. In Sri Lanka however, the cliché is that these gifts, depending on your age, will need to come from cash saved up from your allowance, brought through a different friends, and delivered through a completely different friend. The reason for these clandestine operations is usually a strict parental force. 

There is also the fact that our island is a family oriented culture. So in addition to buying a significant other a present, you will also feel the requirement to buy something for your mother, father, sister, brother, etc. And if Valentine ’s Day falls on a weekday (as it does this year) and if you run a company, you can be sure that your employees will expect, at the very least, a pink or red frosted cupcake. 

The Umbrellas 

 

Even though the mindsets of Sri Lanka’s youth are evolving rapidly, there are still some heavy cultural restraints present in the country. This leads to young couples finding any way in which to score a private moment or two, particularly on this day which *forces* you to celebrate love. 

So come the day, expect to see a rise in umbrella sales, and witness popular couple’s haunts like Galle Face Green, Viharamahadevi Park, Independence Square (park) and many others, scattered with couples hidden under an expansive umbrella, not so much as protection from the elements, as much as from judgmental prying eyes. 

In conclusion, whatever your plans (or lack thereof) are this Valentine’s Day, rest assured that it will be far from boring in Sri Lanka. The entertainment, the advice, the presents will all be as constant as the constant sunshine – and that is a cliché we can get behind.