Say 'i Love You' And Rose To The Occasion

[george]

VALENTINE'S DAY

Say 'I love you' and rose to the occasion

A stupendous Bt2.16 bn will be spent on special gifts, a poll says

BANGKOK: -- Love may be sweet - but it's not cheap and it's subject to inflation. Thais are expected to spend Bt2.16 billion this Valentine's Day, mostly on flowers, greeting cards, chocolates, gifts, and dolls.

They will also splash out at restaurants, cinemas and karaoke parlours, according to a poll by University of Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC).

Based on a per capita basis, people will spend an average of Bt1,282 on Valentine's Day. The 30-39 age group is expected to spend the most at Bt1,756, and the 19-22 age group the least at Bt709.

The UTCC poll covering 1,223 respondents nationwide was conducted from February 8-10. Its finding showed that though the spending is 15.1 per cent up from Bt1.87 billion last year, the higher spending is due to the increase in product prices.

The poll showed that respondents shared the same view that festival prices had spiked - particularly for flowers and other gifts.

Another survey by GE Money, covering 3,115 employees in Asian countries, showed that Thais are likely to spend the least among Asian employees on the day, with 54 per cent of women and 49 per cent of men indicating an average spend of up to US$50 (Bt1,600).

Dinner was chosen as the "preferred'' option for Valentine's Day by 58 per cent of women and 74 per cent of men, followed by gift giving.

The survey concluded that Asian women would spend slightly more than men on Valentine's Day, as 34 per cent of women said that they would spend up to $50 compared with only a quarter of men.

A further 32 per cent of women said they would spend between $50 to $100 compared with 29 per cent of men.

Thais are likely to spend the least on Valentine's Day, with 54 per cent of women and 49 per cent of men indicating an average spend of up to $50. Dinner was also chosen as the "preferred'' option for Valentine's Day by 58 per cent of women and 74 per cent of men, followed by gift giving.

The GE Money poll found that Filipinos are the most "romantic'' in Asia, with 72 per cent saying they planned to celebrate Valentine's Day in 2008.

Results showed that Korean and Thai men are more "romantic'' than their women, with Thai women the least likely to celebrate Valentine's Day. Overall, Japanese men are the least responsive. When asked to rate their top three most desirable gifts, Asian women chose flowers [53 per cent], jewellery [51 per cent] and travel [35 per cent]. Tying in at an equal third place was chocolate.

Just one-fifth of women preferred lingerie or personal gifts. Only 8 per cent of Asian women chose cosmetics.

For Asian men, their most desired gifts were chocolate,[42 per cent], followed by flowers at 41 per cent and jewellery at 29 per cent.

-- The Nation 2008-02-13

Spending on Valentine's Day rising 15%

BANGKOK: -- Despite Thailand's sluggish economy and a higher cost of living, spending by young men and women in love for Valentine's Day on Thursday is expected to increase 15 per cent compared to last year, according to a survey by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC).

Thanawat Palavichai, director of UTCC's Economic and Business Forecasting Center, said the survey conducted between February 8-10 among 1,223 people, mostly youths, found that about Bt2.16 billion would change hands during Valentine's Day, up from about Bt1.878 billion money spent on last year's Valentine's Day.

While the amount is higher than last year, spending is still projected to be less than two-thirds the amount expected to change hands a week later during Makha Bucha or Buddhist religous holiday.

Some 45.3 per cent of the Thai respondents, however, said that Valentine's Day this year would be celebrated "less actively than last year" due to the higher cost of living and the poorer economy, said Mr. Thanawat.

Slightly over half -- 52 per cent of respondents said they planned to celebrate the day with their sweethearts, while the rest would stay home, he said.

As many as 88.5 per cent of the respondents agreed that the prices of roses had become too expensive while slightly over 80 per cent were worried about the celebrants having sex before they are fully mature and 76.5 per cent were concerned about sex violations.

The University also conducted a survey on the upcoming Makha Bucha Day in which nearly two-thirds of the respondents -- 64.8 per cent -- of respondents said they would make merit at Buddhist temples.

It is estimated that money totaling about Bt3.64 billion, up about 15 per cent from 2007, would change hands on Makha Bucha Day which falls one week after Valentine's Day on February 21.

Makha Bucha Day is one of the most important Buddhist religious days as it marks the day when 1,250 novice monks came to meet Lord Buddha without making a prior appointment.

--TNA 2008-02-13

Related links:

Flowers for Valentine's Day

Valentine's Online Dating

[makescents]

Hope my card gets there on time

MC

[absolutelyBangkok]

We got this Valentine's handbook uploaded, just in case somebody is still looking for Valentine's ideas and such in Bangkok ...

[cclub75]

Despite Thailand's sluggish economy and a higher cost of living, spending by young men and women in love for Valentine's Day on Thursday is expected to increase 15 per cent compared to last year, according to a survey by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC).

Too bad.

But this year, it seems the sluggish economy has hit consumers hard, and it shows by just how little Thais are spending on their loved ones.

Vendors said sales have dropped by a whopping 40 per cent this year.

They’re having to sell a rose for between 5-8 baht apiece and a bouquet for 250 baht, compared to last year, when one rose would cost 300-400 baht and a bouquet would sell for 400-500 baht.

ThaiCrisis

[farangtingtong]

What is the real meaning of Valentine's Day?

Is it, as far as I know an opportunity to show a secret love your anonymous admiration or is it, as in Thailand, a wild card to have the most amazing sex once a year?

Edited February 13, 2008 by farangtingtong

[john b good]

What is the real meaning of Valentine's Day?

Is it, as far as I know an opportunity to show a secret love your anonymous admiration or is it, as in Thailand, a wild card to have the most amazing sex once a year?

How about this....

The History of Valentine's Day

Every February, across the country, candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint and why do we celebrate this holiday? The history of Valentine's Day -- and its patron saint -- is shrouded in mystery. But we do know that February has long been a month of romance. St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become associated with this ancient rite? Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred.

One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men -- his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.

Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured.

According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first 'valentine' greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl -- who may have been his jailor's daughter -- who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed 'From your Valentine,' an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France.

While some believe that Valentine's Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine's death or burial -- which probably occurred around 270 A.D -- others claim that the Christian church may have decided to celebrate Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to 'christianize' celebrations of the pagan Lupercalia festival. In ancient Rome, February was the official beginning of spring and was considered a time for purification. Houses were ritually cleansed by sweeping them out and then sprinkling salt and a type of wheat called spelt throughout their interiors. Lupercalia, which began at the ides of February, February 15, was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.

To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at the sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would then sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification.

The boys then sliced the goat's hide into strips, dipped them in the sacrificial blood and took to the streets, gently slapping both women and fields of crops with the goathide strips. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed being touched with the hides because it was believed the strips would make them more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city's bachelors would then each choose a name out of the urn and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage. Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day around 498 A.D. The Roman 'lottery' system for romantic pairing was deemed un-Christian and outlawed. Later, during the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of birds' mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of February -- Valentine's Day -- should be a day for romance. The oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. The greeting, which was written in 1415, is part of the manuscript collection of the British Library in London, England. Several years later, it is believed that King Henry V hired a writer named John Lydgate to compose a valentine note to Catherine of Valois.

In Great Britain, Valentine's Day began to be popularly celebrated around the seventeenth century. By the middle of the eighteenth century, it was common for friends and lovers in all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes. By the end of the century, printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one's feelings was discouraged. Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine's Day greetings. Americans probably began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began to sell the first mass-produced valentines in America.

According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.)

Approximately 85 percent of all valentines are purchased by women. In addition to the United States, Valentine's Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia.

Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages (written Valentine's didn't begin to appear until after 1400), and the oldest known Valentine card is on display at the British Museum. The first commercial Valentine's Day greeting cards produced in the U.S. were created in the 1840s by Esther A. Howland. Howland, known as the Mother of the Valentine, made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as "scrap".

Special thanks to American Greetings.

[taurusguy]

I wonder why an expensive day like this was created..

[Seneque]

I have the rose ... where can i get the love !

[PoorSucker]

A stupendous Bt2.16 bn will be spent on special gifts, a poll says

A stupid Bt2.16 bn will be spent on special gifts, a poll says

PS

Not meaning you, my love...

DS

[jimbeam1]

Hope my card gets there on time

MC

I'm a smart ass. Mine got there today. Me in good books. Ha Ha!

jb1

[peter991]

Breaking News: No sex on Valentine's, Thai police warn teens

Wednesday Feb 13 19:44 AEDT

Alarmed by polls showing one in four Thai teens will celebrate St. Valentine's Day by having sex, police plan to swoop on motels, malls and parks to ensure youths behave themselves on the "Day of Love".

The annual campaign to ensure good behaviour on February 14 will see city officials turn on all lights at public parks in the capital Bangkok, while parents are urged to make sure their teenagers come home early.

Police and "student inspectors" from the Education Ministry will be checking discrete "curtain" motels to make sure youths under the legal age of 18 are not using them for amorous interludes.

"We will send patrols to check out public parks, restaurants and shopping malls, which are the starting points for potential sexual activities that will be done at home or motels," Bangkok police spokesman Suporn Pansuea said.

Thailand's moral guardians are taking action after an Assumption University poll showed 27 percent of 2400 Bangkok teenagers surveyed said they might have sex on Wednesday.

Despite Bangkok's reputation as one of the world's sex industry centres, predominately Buddhist Thailand is generally a conservative country.

This year's St Valentine's Day celebrations have been tempered by a sluggish economy after two years of political strife and a 2006 coup, and nationwide mourning for King Bhumibol Adulyadej's sister who died in January.

Rose vendors have complained about sagging sales because people have less disposable income.

"I don't think we'll have robust sales this Valentine's Day," Den Yarum, a florist at Bangkok's main flower market, told the Thai-language Daily News.

A number of annual high-profile events, such as weddings conducted on mountain cliffs, underwater or in hot-air balloons, have been cancelled or postponed due to the 100-day mourning period for Princess Galyani Vadhana.

Bangkok's "District of Love", a city office where superstitious couples flock to register their marriages on Valentine's Day, will be open for business, but the ceremonies will be low key.

"People are still mourning Princess Galyani Vadhana so the activities will be simple, with an emphasis on her love for the people," district chief Pravit Panviroj said.

Peter

[mitrapaap]

can somebody tell me when (date) Valentines day is?

[dieter1]

Valentine's day,

just another stuped thing to get stupid people to buy more useless things. to spend more money.

May be known in US or Britain for a long time, but for example in Germany or Thailand, 40 years ago, no one was speaking about this day !

It was a marketing idea of flower sellers to promote this day (guess why?!).

The idea is clever: If you dont buy flowers/gifts on this day, your loved one or your wife will think, you dont care her !

[Heng]

For us, cut orchid sales wise, sales are actually down worldwide (or at least across the 20 or so countries we normally ship to). Usually for a month leading up to Valentine's and about 2-3 weeks after, our sales for that 6 week period is the equivalent of 3-4 months of sales for all other parts of the year combined (Dec. not included... that's also a heavy wedding month).

[TAWP]

Surely it must be highly illegal and a vicious crime to have sex while being a teen, when so much time is spent curbing it?

[mrbojangles]

A short Valentine 'love' message. Borrowed from Jai Dee

Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet, and so are you.

But the roses are wilting, the violets are dead, the sugar bowl's empty and so is your head.

[Bagwan]

Based on a per capita basis, people will spend an average of Bt1,282 on Valentine's Day. The 30-39 age group is expected to spend the most at Bt1,756, and the 19-22 age group the least at Bt709.

I give no credence to these figures. 1,282 THB is a week's wages in Isan.

I'd like to know how much the ladies spend on this over hyped occasion. My guess is that the traffic is all one way.

[legag]

Overrated.

Way way way way out of the true V day meaning.

[rstrauss]

Despite Bangkok's reputation as one of the world's sex industry centres, predominately Buddhist Thailand is generally a conservative country.

This year's St Valentine's Day celebrations have been tempered by a sluggish economy after two years of political strife and a 2006 coup, and nationwide mourning for King Bhumibol Adulyadej's sister who died in January.

Surely they meant, "despite Bangkok being the world's sex industry centre?"

The irony of trying to stop teens having a Valentine's day bonk when there are brothels on every street corner is obviously lost on the author of that article as well as the holier-than-thou moralists in Thai society.

I can just imagine the police man, after smoking out all those youngsters: "So, these buggers are in bed. Time to go to mia noi!"

[John_Betong]

How about this for your Teeruk?

http://www.dinnerinthesky.com/

[Jai Dee]

Rose prices triple on Valentine's Day

Rose prices at the Pak Khlong (ปากคลอง) Market today have almost tripled in price with most vendors selling 50 rose bouquets at 250 baht to capitalize on the Valentine Day's boost in sales. Prices from last week for the bouquets ranged from 80 to 100 baht.

Vendors at the market have also put exotic roses and other flowers up for purchase.

Despite the high prices the atmosphere at the market was still vibrant throughout the morning with many florists picking out flowers for their enterprises as well as teenagers purchasing flowers to celebrate Valentines day. Many of the youths stated that even with the raised prices they have still chosen Pak Khlong market as it has high quality roses at a lower price than from florist shops.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 14 Febuary 2008

[BigSnake]

A mini boom day for the short time motel/hotel around the country. Be safe kids, safe sex is a must.

[TAWP]

[sunreader]

I used http://www.forever-florist-thailand.com/ to surprise my wife with $100 worth of flowers, they phoned her the day before to ask for directions! (nice surprise) then attempted delivery on the day to a 78 year old neighbor! (that must have got her hopes up!)

Apparently my wife eventually got the roses and they were "crap".....meanwhile in the UK the Battle of The Roses were producing some very competatively priced bouqets....I will not be using that company again.

[NanLaew]

I used http://www.forever-florist-thailand.com/ to surprise my wife with $100 worth of flowers, they phoned her the day before to ask for directions! (nice surprise) then attempted delivery on the day to a 78 year old neighbor! (that must have got her hopes up!)

Apparently my wife eventually got the roses and they were "crap".....meanwhile in the UK the Battle of The Roses were producing some very competatively priced bouqets....I will not be using that company again.

I used forever-florist-thailand.com and they delivered on-time and discretely... in the provinces.

My wife says the house is in uproar, never has such a beautiful arrangement been seen. I am her star!

Thanks forever-florist-thailand

10/10 from me.

[TAWP]

I didn't get my wife anything*, she bought food and drinks. I'm her star.

*=In all fairness, I'm not a complete bastard. I was going to buy something very special but the company decided to have closed until the 18th due to Chinese New Year. >_<