Who sent this funny valentine? Today you get to open someone else’s mail
and unmask the admirer. Read on…
© Sheron Long

Cultural Tradition Stamped with Love

Every Valentine’s Day, fond and funny valentines go out around the world in TikTok and email, on Facebook, by text, and in an instant on Instagram. It’s a cultural tradition.

Today, however, with so much shelter-in-place time on our hands, the old-fashioned handwritten Valentine’s card, the kind sealed with a stamp and a kiss, is loving its revival. Have a fun look at these tokens of love intercepted by OIC.

FROM: Beth Harmon of “The Queen’s Gambit”
TO: Her Chessboard

Like chess, the strategies of love are complex, but true masters bond with the chessboard and always find their queen, king, or knight in shining armor. And “The Queen’s Gambit” was strategic, too. It landed a spot on Netflix (nobody’s pawn) and was viewed by 62 million households in its first month.

Our love is here to play.

FROM: Zoom
TO: Over 300 Million Daily Meeting Participants

The secret of the Zoom success? Founder Eric Yuan credits the firm’s focus on delivering happiness and listening to what customers have to say. That’s the secret to any positive relationship.

We love you just the way you are.

TO: Supermarket Staff, Delivery Drivers, Farmworkers, Meatpackers, Educators, and All Our Essential Workers
FROM: The Global Community

We’re sweet on you. Happy Valentine’s Day from the top and bottom of our hearts. 

FROM: We the People
TO: Amanda Gorman, Who Was “Brave Enough to Be It” at the Biden Inauguration

Youth poet laureate Amanda Gorman, 23,  ended her poem “The Hill We Climb” with these words: The new dawn blooms as we free it / For there is always light, / if only we’re brave enough to see it / if only we’re brave enough to be it.

Valentine, you took my breath away! Happy day!

FROM: The Lovely Lady Daphne Bridgerton
TO: Simon, the Duke of Hastings

Roses are red. Violets are blue. My dear Simon, I burn for you. 

And now, feel a different kind of Bern…

TO: Bernie
FROM: The Meme Gods

We’re s-mitten! Happy Valentine’s Day.
Here’s to your warm heart (and even warmer hands). 

FROM: Accomplished Deer Hunter and Sun King, Louis XIV
TO: The Ladies of the Court

My deer, I only have eyes for you…and you…and you…and you…

TO: Apollo, God and Son of Zeus
FROM: Venus, Goddess of Love and Beauty

Theirs was a long-standing relationship in Nice, France. When the Fontaine du Soleil, created by French sculptor Alfred Janniot, was inaugurated in 1956, Apollo met Venus. The rest was history…but not without its blips. Here’s the full back story.

As lovers, our relationship was going nowhere, but I’ll always have your back.

TO: The Healthcare Community
FROM: All of Us Who Love Life

In 2020, the world experienced the courageous efforts of 59 million healthcare workers. Often without breaks and proper protection, they showed what it means to be Enamorado de la vida (In love with life).

My heart beats for you!

TO: Herd Immunity (after vaccination)
FROM: Those Who Miss Mingling (Ewe Know Who Ewe Are)

Oh, for the day when we can put our hearts together again!

FROM: Me
TO: My iPhone

I just can’t quit you.

FROM: Auguste Rodin
TO: Lovers Everywhere

French sculptor Auguste Rodin created “The Kiss” in 1882, sweet love contrasted with the rocky pedestal of life.

No fashion. Just passion this Valentine’s Day.

TO: The World’s Performing Artists
FROM: Everyone in Lockdown

Your show went on(line), but we miss you more than a thousand hands clapping. Sending you a standing ovation and all our love until we meet again.

FROM: OIC Moments
TO: All Our Readers

You light up our life! Keep looking on the bright side and Happy Valentine’s Day.

May fond and funny valentines, the handwritten kind filled with kisses and wishes, be at the heart of your cultural traditions this Valentine’s Day.  Oh, I see, the personal touch is always a heart’s delight!

♥♥♥

Comment on the post below. 

Photo credits

Girl and chessboard: Meredith Mullins with chessboard from PxHere and border by Русский/Pixabay; Zoom screen, in order from top left to bottom right—1. Jerry Kimbrell/Pixabay, 2. valentinrussanov/iStock, 3. Yogendra Singh/Pixabay with background from Devanath/Pixabay, 4. fizkes/iStock, 5. adogslifephoto/iStock, 6. Phúc Må /Pixabay, 7. Ryan McGuire/Pixabay, 8. Gerd Altmann/Pixabay, 9. Sheron Long; candy hearts, Bojsha65/iStock; heart sun, Rony Michaud/Pixabay; roses, Sheron Long with pink flame from PxHere; cafe scene with restaurant exterior by FooTToo/iStock, roses by Mohamed Chermiti/Pixabay, and graffiti heart by Carola68/Pixabay; deer with glasses, Sheron Long; Apollo and Venus statues, Sheron Long; storefront in Madrid, Sheron Long; sheep herd, Sheron Long; text message, Sheron Long; Rodin’s “The Kiss,” Sheron Long with border by Mikhail Strogalev/iStock; empty theater, aerogondo/iStock; stoplight, Sheron Long.  

3D greeting card illustrations by PetrStransky/iStock (landscape) and Samohin/iStock (portrait).