A hopeful fluttering heartbeat, sweaty nervous hands and eager eyes while you wait for the mailman. There was once a time when chocolates and handwritten letters on scented paper sealed with a kiss were the currency of love. <\/p>\n
I\u2019ve heard many heart-warming tales from my parents and witnessed love stories blossoming between my friends.<\/p>\n
It is February 14 \u2014 Valentine\u2019s Day and it is a red-letter romantic occasion for most Filipinos and Australians.<\/p>\n
More often than not, it is a hallmark of love for people to express their feelings in the form of gift-giving and showing their sincerest gestures to their significant other.<\/p>\n
But let\u2019s face it. Valentine\u2019s Day can be a minefield \u2014 everything from the cheesy bouquets to the reservation hassle to the underwhelming prix fix meal.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t get me wrong. You should put the thought and effort to honour the man or woman you love. But it\u2019s too easy to fall into the trap of societal expectations and feel compelled to spend a lot of money to have someone else\u2019s idea of a romantic night.<\/p>\n
There is increasing pressure for people to spend on lavish gifts and elaborate dates.<\/p>\n
Yes, \u00a0the roses are red, violets are blue. It\u2019s an amazing day to be intimate but what does Valentine\u2019s Day really mean to you?<\/p>\n
It may be a well-deserved weekend away, a surprise gift or a cosy homemade dinner. But perhaps there can be another day to celebrate the day with your significant person in your life. Perhaps we can borrow from the timeless and unspoken gestures by Filipinos to shower our loved ones in a way that can be remembered and cherished forever.<\/p>\n
Harana<\/strong><\/p>\n Harana (serenade) is one of the traditional ways of courting or wooing a female particularly in regional areas in the Philippines. Back in those days, the young man goes to his lady love\u2019s house. He brings a guitar with him or a friend who knows how to play the guitar, to serenade her with love songs by her window. It is a tradition that is still not lost today, and often a great part of young high school romances.<\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n Prepare breakfast for him and serve it in bed<\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n Turn off his alarm on the day. Wake up before he does and prepare him a hearty home-cooked breakfast in bed. An old-fashioned handwritten card would complete the surprise and might even win you the most romantic partner of the year. <\/strong><\/p>\n Organise a romantic relaxing picnic at a park <\/strong><\/p>\n Though a very small gesture, it is an intimate and is an enchanting way to spend an hour or two with a scenic walk or cosy picnic, no matter your age. Not all dates, needs a grand or crazy price tag. Snuggle up watching the sunset at your local park or watch the magical waterfall lights at Hyde Park in the city do the work.<\/p>\n Forget the overpriced bouquet of flowers that she won\u2019t eventually need. Forget the overrated crowded restaurant experience he won\u2019t remember.<\/p>\n Why put a price on love when what matters is the valuable time you spend with that person on this day and the remaining 364 days. ??<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A hopeful fluttering heartbeat, sweaty nervous hands and eager eyes while you wait for the mailman. There was once a time when chocolates and handwritten letters on scented paper sealed with a kiss were the currency of love.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,52,63],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4212"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4212"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4212\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}