Valentine’s Day should be celebrated

Although some consider it an irrelevant holiday, there is nothing wrong with celebrating Valentine’s Day. In fact, its meaning is arguably of more importance than any other national holiday; while holidays like Easter and Christmas are religion-based and the 4th of July and Thanksgiving are seen as problematic to many, Valentine’s Day celebrates one of the most important values of life and can be celebrated by anyone anywhere on the globe. In a society where acts of affection are much-needed and even lacking, Valentine’s Day places an important emphasis on love.

One of the biggest misunderstandings that come with Valentine’s Day comes from the lack of celebration amongst single people. But who said Valentine’s Day only belonged to couples? Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be a holiday reserved only for celebrating romantic love; other forms of love such as friendship and familial love can also be celebrated. Instead of using Valentine’s Day to mourn our uneventful romantic lives, we should start treating Valentine’s Day like an excuse to celebrate the positive relationships in our lives—and as an excuse to celebrate in general. Events like COVID-19 and the sluggishness of academic spirit during the middle of the year explain the overall tiredness and even burnout many seem to face during this time. There’s nothing wrong with another excuse to brighten it up a bit with holiday cheer. Chocolate, candy, roses, teddy bears, cute stationary, fun outings—who would turn down any of these things?

A last noteworthy criticism of Valentine’s Day focuses on unrestrained consumerism within stores. As soon as it hits January 2nd and the holiday music stops, stores like Walmart do a 180 degree turn and incorporate dozens of red and white Valentine’s Day items into their stock. One big criticism of Valentine’s Day is that nowadays, people put too much emphasis on these monetary-based items, making it seem more and more like these items make the holiday when rather it’s the precious quality time you spend with your loved ones. While this criticism isn’t necessarily a flaw (gifting is a valid love language), if this is a concern to you, it has an easy fix. All it takes to turn this holiday from a drag to the fun celebratory occasion it really is is a simple change of mentality. This Valentine’s Day, in addition to showing your love through store-bought items, also prepare a craft or organize some quality time.