Love is in the Air
This special day commemorates affection globally
writer: Hailey Boyce
A dozen red roses delivered to home, a box of chocolates with a love letter waiting on the table, a kiss from a loved one, how much better does it get? Valentine’s Day is a special holiday all about love and it’s much needed. The cold weather is at an all-time high for the year, the holidays have ended and the workload rises. People need a day to relax and spend time with the people they love.
Life can get busy to a point where priorities aren’t straight. Time with family and loved ones is taken over by work and/or school. However, Valentine’s Day allows time for bonding with someone loved. Dedicate that time to someone special in your heart and don’t take the time for granted.
Not everyone is in a relationship but there are always alternatives. Valentine’s Day is about love, not necessarily a romantic relationship. Showing love and admiration to family and friends is also important on this day. “Galentine’s day” which originated from the TV series, Parks and Recreation, is where people celebrate the day by hanging out with friends. Whether it’s shopping, dinner or watching romcoms, finding something to bond over is a great alternative.
Valentine’s Day has been celebrated since the Late Antiquity period but it doesn’t have the same connotations as it does today. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. In the 1300’s on Feb. 14, two men were executed but in different years and both of their names were Valentine. The Catholic Church adopted St. Valentine’s Day to honor the men as they were believed to be martyrs, according to NPR.com
The day got its implication of love when poet Geoffrey Chaucer wrote about the first day of spring in Britain during the Middle Ages which happened to be Feb 14. He wrote about the beginning of bird mating season and how affectionate the season was. Keep in mind that Catholics liked to commemorate a saint everyday to keep track of the days and it just so happened to be St. Valentine’s Day. People started adopting this day and became more popular and being associated with love.
At first glance, Valentine’s Day is a commercialized day where companies that correlate with love get to make money. While this may be true, the important part is to remind others about the affection. If nothing else, one should take Feb. 14 as a self care day. Buy one’s own flowers, chocolates and reflect on the accomplishments of themselves. Whatever someone does on this day, always choose love.
Money is in the air
This insignificant day commemorates commercialism globally
writer: Emily Zimpfer
Valentine’s Day has existed for over a thousand years and it’s still one of the worst holidays; it didn’t even originate as a day all about love. Rather, it began in honor of St. Valentine according to History.com.
Valentine’s Day didn’t even become associated with love until much later in history, so it’s unclear why people still celebrate Valentine’s Day as the day of love.
When most people think about Valentine’s Day they usually think about the box of chocolates, the cringey card, and those heart-shaped candies that aren’t really good. Valentine’s Day has become less about love and more about money.
Valentine’s Day is well known as one of the most commercialized holidays. According to Forbes.com. in 2021 $21.8 billion were spent on Valentine’s Day alone, and this number has only been increasing.
Consumers are spending billions of dollars each year on items that usually go to waste right after. It seems like the love part of Valentine’s Day has been forgotten and replaced with material goods.
Due to how materialistic Valentine’s Day is, a lot of waste is produced. This waste has created many negative impacts on the environment. Flowers for example are a very popular gift for Valentine’s Day, but due to unstable regulations in the industry many harmful chemicals and pesticides are used on these flowers that hurt the soil, air, and water according to the World Resources Institute.
According to Census.gov, around 50 percent of Americans are single. Another statistic from the same article states that marriage rates among men and women have been going down. It doesn’t seem really fair to have a non-religious holiday that doesn’t even represent half of the population.
Valentine’s Day isn’t even the worst for single people. It can also be bad for those in relationships.
Valentine’s Day can put a lot of stress on a relationship. Media has made Valentine’s Day a day of high expectations, getting the perfect gift, the perfect dinner reservation, and just having the perfect day in general.
Valentine’s Day has become unnecessary. Today it’s all about consumerism; love has been completely removed from the holiday. It is an outdated holiday that society needs to begin to move away from.
