By Claire Rose
staff writer
Ah, good ol’ Valentine’s Day. The day used by sweethearts to buy gifts for their significant others to show their appreciation, and a day solely acknowledged by singles as a day of cheap chocolates. However, with very few knowing the history of the day and the fact that countless companies make millions leading up to February 14th, it begs the question of whether Valentine’s day is a real holiday, or just a day made up so that lovers could buy each other’s forgiveness for whatever they did wrong last year. Valentine’s Day is technically a real holiday, but the original principle of the day has been long lost (so much so that it is commonly confused with St. Patrick and the snakes in Ireland). At first, Valentine’s Day celebrated the martyrdom of St. Valentine, but around 500 AD the fertility festival of Lupercalia fused with Valentine’s Day to become the day of love we celebrate now.
However, just because it’s on the calendar doesn’t mean that everyone sees it as an actual holiday worthy of celebration. In fact, many people will accuse February 14th as a day for sorry lovebirds to make up for their mistakes of the past year or for businesses to make money off of those sorry lovebirds.
Such an opinion was expressed by sophomore Rachel Lawson who said, “Personally, I like showing people appreciation throughout the entire year, not just one day. It’s a holiday for people who don’t show enough appreciation to others.”
An even more vehement declaration of Valentine’s pointlessness came from sophomore Blake Maxwell who said, “No, I wouldn’t say it’s a holiday because no one is happy during it. Everyone’s angry or lonely or depressed.” Maxwell also narrowed in on the fact that Valentine’s Day has adapted to become a day for companies to make money off of the holiday’s diligent celebrators.
Though even with plenty of people intent on disregarding February 14th, others, such as sophomore Jenna Bailey, still hold true to their opinion that Valentine’s is a real holiday and a special day for everyone, “where you appreciate everyone who loves you and who you love.”
Valentine’s Day is whatever you want it to be. If you are so inclined to continue buying that special someone the usual card, candy, flowers, or teddy bear, go right on ahead. Otherwise, just pull your sweetheart close and whisper, “I’d prefer to show my appreciation to you throughout the year and not break the bank on this one day.” They’ll probably understand.
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