A: A long lost ancient Greek holiday, created as a forum for friends to share their affection for one another through complements without agenda or the expectation of reciprocation.
Q: When is Platonic Love Day?
A: Tuesday, December 4th.
Q: How can I celebrate it?
A: Compliment your friends! Be as genuine and specific as you can, but compliments can take on many, many forms. Please feel welcome to share your experiences and thoughts regarding the day in comments on this post.
Also, EXP will lead three short (under 10 minutes) events on the main green to celebrate. If you'd like to participate, please bring 2 friends at the following times:
Midnight Monday night
Noon Tuesday
Midnight Tuesday night
Q: What is that symbol?
A: The trefoil knot. It was found punctuating the original document that outlines Platonic love day.
Q: Document?
A: Yes, document. A text written in the style of Plato's dialogues was recently discovered near the ruins of the Temple of Apollo in Corinth. Most of the document has been lost, corrupted by the ravishment of time, but the legible portions discuss Platonic love (which, oddly enough, bears more semblance to the modern notion of Platonic love than the theory of love Plato outlines in his Symposium) and the creation of a holiday celebrating it. Authorship is uncertain. A new translation appears below.
The opening section is corrupted and unreadable.
Apollodorus
But that is simply not how I conceive of love. It is just a bit unwieldy. And I don’t think that is where the belly-button came from.
Plato
It is fact, Apollodorus. Science.
Apollodorus
You are the boss. But maybe I can speak for a moment on love between friends? Love based on affection, without any sexing? A love devoid of exclusivity?
Plato
That is something else entirely.
Apollodorus
I will call it Platonic love with your permission.
Plato
You do not have my permission.
A fragment is missing, presumably in which Apollodorus gains Plato’s permission to use his name.
Apollodorus
So this Platonic love, it is all around us!
Plato
If that were the case, why would people not shower one another with affection willy-nilly?
Apollodorus
Maybe they cannot.
Plato
What is to stop them?
Apollodorus
Why, the shackles of a society which tells them no! The norm is to complement someone if you want something out of them, whether it be sex, money, food, entertainment, what have you.
Plato
That’s not at all true. Apollodorus, I think you have beautiful eyes. And I am not even trying to get into your toga.
Apollodorus
First of all, yes you are. Secondly, your agenda for complementing me was to disprove my point. Thirdly, this conversation created a framework in which you could complement me. A decontextualized complement is a rare and suspect creature. So they generally do not happen. But that does not mean that Platonic love does not exist. It is just squelched and internalized.
Plato
So why do you not create a framework in which people can complement each other and show affection without the assumption of an underlying agenda?
Apollodorus
Such as a forum?
Plato
Broader?
Apollodorus
A new country?
Plato
Something a little more manageable with slightly less military imperative perhaps.
Apollodorus
A holiday!
Plato
Go on.
Apollodorus
We shall establish a day on which the conventional norm is to compliment without agenda or expectation of reciprocation.
Plato
And how are you going to coerce people to display affection towards one another? Prizes for the best complement? Free food for participants?
Apollodorus
The act of giving and receiving love is incentive enough. The point of the framework is not to bribe people to act in a way they would not normally act. The assumption is that people want to display their affection for one another; it is just hard to do spontaneously.
Plato
And love will spread…
Apollodorus
Like what future generations will refer to as a “virus.” The viral transmission of love. One person will complement another, who will complement three others, and so on.
Plato
Hmm. Describe the day to me.
Apollodorus
Well, there is a feast of
The section describing the day has been lost, except for the fragment outlining the ritual.
Plato
And this ritual shall occur when?
Apollodorus
Thrice, at even intervals across the day. Midnight beginning the day, noon, and the midnight ending the day. It will be elegant and simple, so that anyone can participate with ease.
Plato
So pairs of people
Apollodorus
Trios.
Plato
Why?
Apollodorus
Pairs of people are your thing. Trios are mine. I think it is as important and joyful to witness friends complimenting each other as it is to give and receive. So the three shall stand in a triangle, cross arms, hold hands, and take turns complimenting each other, once around as the sundial processes, and once in the reverse direction, so that each gives to the other two, and each receives from the other two.
Plato
What should the complements be like?
Apollodorus
Genuine. Specific. Heartfelt. They can be anything though.
Plato
Are you going to name it after me?
Apollodorus
Platonic Love Day.
Plato
Ah. When will it be?
The rest of the text is missing.
