What’s not to love about Valentine’s Day?
Love is in the air for me, for you, for all
On February 14 this year, some were greeted with flowers, chocolate and lots of treats. Lovers rekindled their connections and children ran around with a sweet tooth for Valentine’s candies. Valentine’s Day, a classic Hallmark holiday, brings joy to those young and old, single and taken.
Valentine’s Day is centered on love. Many people can get so caught up in everyday life that they forget to focus on their relationships, but Valentine’s Day allows couples to tune back in by creating a romantic night with flowers, chocolate, and love.
Although this Hallmark holiday is centralized around love, it can also be great for those not in relationships. This holiday creates memories that people will remember and love for years to come. I remember one of my favorite parts of Valentine’s Day was getting to decorate a shoebox as a “mailbox” for valentines, in which every student would bring candy for everyone and put it in their box. This nostalgic moment can always bring smiles to the faces of the many that got this experience as a child. One important rule of this tradition was that if you were to bring a treat, you must give one to everyone, avoiding the problem of anyone feeling left out. In creating this tradition, platonic love is spread through the classroom environment and students feel included and cared for.
Some may feel depressed or angry on Valentine’s Days due to reminders of past relationships but they are offered a unique opportunity in vengeance. The El Paso Zoo held an annual event called “Quit Buggin’ Me” where the zoo names a cockroach after your ex and they fed it to the Lemurs during the Valentine’s Day weekend. Their feeding was on live stream throughout the day as well and people participated by going to their website and submitting a name with or without a donation.
For children, couples and singles, Valentine’s Day can spread joy all around as a Classic Hallmark Holiday.
Stupid cupid, stop picking on us
Despite its delights, Valentine’s Day does not carry the true meaning it is marketed to have, its’ origins messy and its’ present state even messier.
Way back in Roman times, Valentine’s Day was celebrated under the name of Lupercalia, a celebration of fertility. That meant a bunch of naked Romans drinking, eating, whipping women and auctioning them off in a lottery. Yes, women willingly lined up to be whipped, believing that it would boost their fertility. Then the men would pull names from a cup, and the woman they drew was theirs.
Later on, the Pope decided to replace Lupercalia with St. Valentine’s Day, who married off soldiers in secret even though it was against the law. He was caught and executed by the emperor, so the Pope honored him with this holiday, leading to today’s mass commercialization and distaste.
As of last year, $20.7 billion was spent on the holiday’s merchandise alone, due to the incredible pressure industries place on people to spoil their significant other with lots of gifts.
According to a recent study by Plenty of Fish, an online dating app, 60 percent of Gen Z and 52 percent of Millenials struggle under the heat Valentine’s Day brings, the major forces being societal expectations, social media influence and commercialization.
Our generation already deals with enough stress from school, social relationships and enough hormones to drive us crazy, we don’t need another element of stress to worry about. Thanks to the vast commercialization across television, social media and all over local stores, we are constantly reminded that we either need to find a date, buy them gifts, go out and celebrate or all of the above, which of course costs money.
Yes, the holiday has a great purpose to it: to spread love to significant others, whether that be friend, family, or romantic partner. However, this is lost in the present, forcing young couples to believe that love is measured in money, and that love can only be felt with boyfriends or girlfriends.
Love is being misinterpreted by the masses to mean the amount of dollars spent, not how much you care, all thanks to the money hungry companies who wish to make a quick buck from customers they belittle until they buy.
They say actions speak louder than words, but I hope you saved your money this year.
