Do you do anything for Valentine's Day for your Missus?

[Pecahead]

Do you treat Feb 14th with the scorn that a Hallmark Holiday truly deserves while living in Cambodia, or does your Khmer songsaa expect you to do more than just buying a bouquet of flowers?

According to the article from the WaPo a few years ago, many local take it seriously.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/mor ... 2acaf809ea

[GMJS-440]

One thing I never do is go out to eat on valentines day. Go out the weekend before instead.

[Hanno]

Artificial holiday..

[pedros]

Waiting for the traditional "Virginity/rape day" story to be wheeled out by some western paper, as it is every year.

[Kachang]

Do you treat Feb 14th with the scorn that a Hallmark Holiday truly deserves while living in Cambodia, or does your Khmer songsaa expect you to do more than just buying a bouquet of flowers?

According to the article from the WaPo a few years ago, many local take it seriously.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/mor ... 2acaf809ea

Expectations in general: gold.

[yg11]

Christmas, New Year, Chinese Ney Year, Valentine's day, International women's day, etc. Too many for me.

[Miguelito]

I think that they take it very seriously (serious may be the wrong word, but you get the idea). Traffic will be an absolute mess around town that night, and flower shops will pop up everywhere.

I completely agree that it's an over hyped, commercial holiday, but that doesn't change the reality of what it's become. I even have someone flying into town for meeting this week, and he wanted to come Thur-Friday, but we were told that it's a bad idea as no one would be able to join us for dinner Thursday night, so he better come Wed-Thursday instead.

One thing I never do is go out to eat on valentines day.

Exactly. A nice cooked meal at home with a bottle of champagne - much better value and more special.

[slavedog]

It's been our habit for many years now to go out for a nice quiet meal a day or two before or after the 14th. It's much more enjoyable, the restaurants are not busy, no tacky crap all over the place and no traffic jams caused by spotty kids driving around all night with six-foot teddy bears on their Scoopys.

[ricecakes]

Our wedding anniversary is 3rd Feb so.....no.
I also made it very clear when is started to rear it's ugly head in Cambodia that I think its the biggest bunch of bullshit ever.

As Kachang says......GOLD GOLD GOLD

Just give it to the missus for wedding anniversaries , birthdays and xmas and you will be sweet as pie.

[Playboy]

Waiting for the traditional "Virginity/rape day" story to be wheeled out by some western paper, as it is every year.

Indeed.

They fail to realise that times have changed and that there are Khmer 'good' girls getting their furrows ploughed daily, not just on the traditional 'If You Loved Me Day'.

[Stokely]

You unromantic bastards.......

At least you can take some comfort in the fact that an anagram of Valentine’s Day, is “a nasty evil end”.

[LexusSchmexus]

Never done anything. As mentioned, it's a lame holiday.

[newnewnewbie]

I used to go to Walkabout for Valentines Day, but no more.

[Miguelito]

Waiting for the traditional "Virginity/rape day" story to be wheeled out by some western paper, as it is every year.

Indeed.

They fail to realise that times have changed and that there are Khmer 'good' girls getting their furrows ploughed daily, not just on the traditional 'If You Loved Me Day'.

Well that didn't take long... but it wasn't a "Western" paper...

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport has issued guidance to all public and private learning institutions to teach students the true meaning of Valentine’s Day, an outside cultural event relatively new to Cambodia.

The guidance issued on Thursday says the ministry had observed in the past that some students incorrectly linked Valentine’s Day with sex rather than love and encouraged educational institutions to set up positive initiatives in the community.

The ministry’s guidance added that public and private educational institutions must adhere to internal regulations on moral discipline by closely monitoring students’ attendance.

“The event is not a traditional Cambodian holiday, but over past years it has started to have more influence on Cambodia’s youth, with some losing their self-respect and [adherence to] Cambodia’s culture and well-preserved traditions,” the guidance reads.

All public and private educational institutions must therefore advise and inform students as to the real meaning of Valentine’s Day.

‘Future in their hands’

The ministry’s guidance urged public and private institutions to encourage their students to follow the “Friend Helps Friend” policy and work with parents and the wider community to prevent immoral activities.

Ministry spokesperson Ros Soveacha told The Post on Sunday that students should consider Valentine’s as just another day and come to school as normal. If possible, they should find work helping their communities to gain positive benefits for themselves and others

Ministry issues Valentine’s caution - Phnom Penh Post