Opinion by SophiaReinhardt

Ever since I was younger, I did not understand the point of Valentine’s Day. I always wondered why we need a holiday to celebrate the love we should be giving all year round? I always considered it a “Hallmark holiday.” Now that I am older, I still feel the same way, but I think I may have found the answer: commercialism and consumerism.

On average, nicer Valentine’s Day candy (the big chocolate hearts, containers of pink and red M&Ms, heart-shaped gummy candy) all cost more than $20. Plus, fancy Valentine’s flowers can cost anywhere from $60-$600. Flowers on any other day at Target cost $8-$20. What I noticed all these gifts had in common was how expensive they are or how flashy they could be.

Social media has brought even worse expectations of what Valentine’s Day should be. Every February, my feed becomes couple after couple trying to one-up everyone else and have the grandest Valentine’s Day gesture or the biggest/most expensive gift. From hundreds of roses to expensive trips to jewelry that the average person would never be able to afford, it is painting an unrealistic picture of what people should expect from a loved one or even from friends or family. If someone can not get a giant bouquet of roses or an expensive necklace or ring, they can get labeled as a bad friend or partner. Suddenly, it’s assumed that they do not care enough or if they wanted to they would, but sometimes that just isn’t possible for a person. These items are made to be so expensive that especially younger people can not always afford them, but that does not equate to not caring enough about someone.

This rise of commercialism not only paints the unrealistic ideas of what one should expect, but also feeds into the bigger problem of mass consumerism. All the holiday editions of clothes, cups, shoes, jewelry and other materialistic items lead to people buying more things than they really need. I look at what happened with the Valentine’s edition of the Stanley cup, where people waited outside stores for hours and even got physical, and how the craze surrounding that became so wild people were fighting for them. Even heart-themed jewelry, I do not know many girls, including myself, who consistently wear or really want heart or Valentine-themed jewelry. However, it is still extremely marketed as something that everyone wants, on top of how overpriced this specific jewelry is. Once bought, it is maybe worn that day, but hardly, if ever again. It is not worth spending all this money or buying all these items that will not really be used or end up being just for show.

One of the other biggest issues I have with Valentine’s Day is that it is the day you are really supposed to treat the people around you with love. I have heard about and seen where this becomes the only day that people are given gifts or truly celebrated for their relationships, and even then, it is only because “you are supposed to.” People should not feel obligated to gift their partner, but also should not be able to use a singular day as an excuse to be a good friend or partner. 

I am all for people celebrating their friendships, family or any type of love, but I believe that we should be doing that every day of the year, not just on one day. I also do not think we should have to show off how much we love our friends, family or partner with expensive items or grand gestures. To me, every day should be a celebration of how happy we are to have the people we love in our lives. But, I will still enjoy the candy on sale the day after.