Valentine’s Day is a popular holiday around the world that is all about celebrating love. People get family, friends and partners gifts, such as chocolate and flowers.
The history of Valentine’s Day started with the ancient Roman pagan festival of Lupercalia, which was centered around a myth about an ancient king named Amulius ordering the death of his twin nephews, Remus and Romulus. They miraculously survived and were raised back to health by a wolf, and later a shepherd. The boys Remus and Romulus grew up and founded the powerful empire of Rome, according to Brittanica.
In honor of this story, the Romans celebrated the holiday of Lupercalia, where priests called “Luperci” participated.
They started by sacrificing two goats and a dog, touching the heads of the animals with a bloody knife. They then struck a woman with a spear, which was supposed to render them fertile.
According to history, Valentine’s Day is celebrated as a feast to Christianize Lupercalia and to honor the Saint (St.) Valentine. Information about St. Valentine as a person is not known, as there are multiple saints in the past who could have been him.
The most popular story is one about how Emperor Claudius II, who was the emperor of Rome in the 3rd century, banned young men from marrying. This is because, in his opinion, unmarried men were better soldiers than men who had been married. St. Valentine was outraged by this and married people in secret. When the Emperor found out, St. Valentine was killed.
Although Valentine’s Day is the holiday of love, one would expect everyone to love it; however, that just is not the case. Many people complain about Valentine’s Day for a variety of reasons. Some common ones are those who do not have a romantic partner and may feel left out or lonely by all the romance.
Others complain about the Capitalism of the holiday, focusing on material items. However, those who like Valentine’s Day are considered lucky because of how big of a holiday it is. As per the National Retail Federation, consumers are expected to spend a record high of $27.5 billion this year for the holiday.
People who like Valentine’s Day usually love all things romance and love. Others see buying something from the store as an easy way to show they care about their loved ones.
“Yes, I do like Valentine’s Day … because it allows us to show our love and appreciation to everyone; family, friends (or) partner,” Edelyn Gonzalez-Reyes (10) said.
A lot of people working in retail may feel overwhelmed during this holiday. Because many people tend to procrastinate on shopping for their loved ones, retail workers are overwhelmed by stampedes for shoppers the days before.
“I think a lot of people will tend to procrastinate until the week of Valentine’s Day because many people … [would] rather just order online, so I don’t really think Wal-Mart will be busy until the week of Valentine’s Day,” Cory Heckman (11), who works at Wal-Mart, said.
Valentine’s Day is a very popular holiday whether the public loves it or not, as it can be a great way to show their loved ones how much they truly care about them.