Valentine’s Day is known by many as the holiday of love and compassion, but is it really as good as it seems? Oftentimes, Valentine’s Day is full of romantic dates, gift giving and spending time with people one loves.
Valentine’s Day was originally introduced in Ancient Roman times as a festival called Lupercalia, which celebrated fertility. In the 5th century, it was renamed St. Valentine’s Day by Pope Gelasius I, honoring Christian martyrs named Valentine. The most prominent of the Valentines was the priest Valentine of Rome, who, against orders from Emperor Claudius II, married couples. Valentine was then executed around 270 AD.
By the Middle Ages, the day became associated with romantic love, partly due to poetry written by Geoffrey Chaucer. The tradition of exchanging cards, and romantic gifts grew in the 18th and 19th centuries, thus evolving into our current knowledge of Valentine’s Day.
Valentine’s Day is a great way for loved ones to show their compassion for one another. Sharing roses, chocolates or stuffed animals are typical gifts given by loved ones to each other.
Some celebrate by going on dates or spending time with their loved ones, but Valentine’s Day celebrations raise one big issue.
One should not have to celebrate their love for someone on a special day, they should be celebrating them every day of the year.
Along with that, Valentine’s Day is supposed to be a holiday centered around love but it is often taken for granted. Valentine’s Day has recently grown into a commercial holiday centered around making money. Over $27.5 billion are spent on presents and gifts, which makes Valentine’s Day the third highest-grossing holiday.
Typical gifts such as a bouquet of flowers cost around $10-$20, while nice chocolate assortments can cost upwards of $30.
Nonetheless, the holiday is still a great time for people to celebrate love.
The holiday brings joy to countless amounts of people across the globe. Giving gifts and cards is still a great way for people to show their appreciation.
People still celebrate the holiday, but does the holiday bring harm to people who are not in relationships?
Valentine’s Day is featured heavily this time of year on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram. With the large amount of people on social media, it gives a false sense of what love is to people.
Videos or posts of people recognizing their loved ones, often makes people viewing these posts unhappy or sad to see that they have no one to celebrate the holiday with.
In the end, Valentine’s Day is a holiday centered around making money and unintentionally hurting the feelings of people, rather than celebrating its real cause of love and happiness. The holiday has rapidly become a hostile time, fostering harsh feelings and taking away from the true meaning of the holiday.