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From V-Day to D-Day...
真愛何需包裝?
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Quite intriguingly, Valentine's
Day is translated
as "Lovers' Festival'
("Qingren jie")
in Chinese. We are
not being finicky
about translation,
but looking at our
way of 'celebrating'
Valentine's Day in
Hong Kong, there may
be a very good reason
for it to be referred
to as a festival.
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On
the market there are all sorts
of V-Day special gifts - all are
'special' with special packaging
and marketing to go with the products.
One such product that has recently
been imported to Hong Kong is
natural roses with love messages
embossed on the petals. Such roses
that have love literally spelt
out cost HK$168 a piece.
Whether Valentine's Day is a V-Day
for lovers we can't tell for sure,
but it is definitely a V-Day for
florists. Last year an estimated
400,000 roses were sold just during
the couple of days before February
14. This year's sale is estimated
to reach 500,000 pieces with our
economy starting to pick up.
The 'festivity' of Valentine's
Day is further foisted on consumers,
with virtually all types of products
and services giving their very
special offers. These range from
heart-shaped diamond earrings
at a V-Day price of HK$22,100,
a HK$3,000 overdraft specially
on February 14 offered by a credit
card company, to a weight loss
programme guaranteeing you a V-Day
date for the extra calories burnt.
An on-line survey conducted by
Survey Central (http://surveycentral.org)
has received some very interesting
responses from voters who express
their views about Valentine's
Day. Some shed light on the consumption
spree behind V-Day. For example,
one contributor writes: "(V-Day
is) just another day that is propped
up by the greeting card and retail
industries" while another
reflects: "If it was less
commercial, I might like it. I
like the idea of Valentine's day,
I just don't like what it's become".
Perhaps V-Day can be turned into
a D-day (shall we call it "De-materialisation
Day") by producing less waste.
The love message from Friends
of the Earth (HK) for this Valentine's
Day is: Love thy environment as
thyself - cut down on packaging
waste.
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西方情人節走近了!！這一日，愛情有價！
為博紅顏一笑，有人掏心示愛，但掏腰包示愛的人更多。不論你以168
元買一支刻字玫瑰，抑或揮金過萬獻上999支火紅玫瑰，笑得最樂的，未必是紅顏，而是花店老闊。去年，香港賣出近40萬支玫瑰，今年估計會增至50萬支。業者怎會不樂?
翻開廣告，發現小文員促銷的22,100元的心形耳環，就需去掉23個月糧（統計處2003年數據）；信用卡公司「鼓勵」你先透支三千大元，才能用優惠價買情人節禮物，至於口袋裡的重量能否熬到糧尾，當然閣下自理。「身體工業」以「您希望情人節『胖』在家中？」為題，再次慫恿閣下要瘦，才有「夢寐以求的浪漫佳節」心型鑽飾廣告，前景是句「我今日有乜唔同？睇佢
有無心啦！」的標題，背後隱約透出二月十四日的字樣，擔心你一不小心忘記了。
睇佢有無心？不如說「睇佢有無金？」
買花送金睇戲共晉情侶餐等千篇一律的樣板，成為這個日子最政治正確的表態公式。想問一句：愛一個人，原來要那麼多的物質包裝。
情人節只是平常「 日子」，卻被打造成「節日」(Festival)。節日要「慶祝」的，所以它被外國商家披上消費外衣。2003年，美國人耗在情人節的花費達20億美元，其中朱古力開支就多達10億美元，玫瑰也賣掉1億支。
這股消費風早就西風東漸，其至吹遍世界。我們不反對送禮，但反對以消費代替愛心，也反對買過度包裝的禮物來「歡渡佳節」。再問一句：真愛何需包裝？
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