Valentine's Day: An Excuse, Not a Reason

Valentine's Day is not my favorite holiday. In fact, sometimes I really hate it. Yesterday was Valentine's Day, and it was pretty crappy. Snow ruined my plan. I was supposed to go see the university's production of The Vagina Monologues and hang out with my best friend. I would celebrate with my boyfriend the following weekend due to his hackathon in Philly. Snow cancelled all campus activities for two and a half days, so my mom picked me up to save me from boredom the day before Valentine's Day. Then, I woke up late on Friday to find no promised Krispy Kreme doughnut. My sister had eaten it. The day was not a total loss, though. I had a mini-marathon of The Walking Dead. I am now almost done with season two. It is quite an interesting show.

Despite the not-so-great Valentine's Day I had yesterday, I dislike Valentine's Day for other reasons. Behavior on Valentine's Day leads one to think it was created by greeting card companies. It has become so commercialized. Chocolate. Flowers. Stuffed animals. Greeting cards. Heart-shaped decor. Conversation hearts. Elementary school valentine cards. It is ridiculous, in my opinion, to have so much stuff for Valentine's Day. Perhaps it stimulates the economy, since people spend so much money on that holiday. Also, many of the typical gifts can seem so generic. I think that Valentine's gifts are supposed to have some significance to the relationship being honored.

What is most upsetting is how people treat Valentine's Day. People feel obligated to celebrate the holiday. They have the mentality, "Oh, it's Valentine's Day. I have to send my sweetheart flowers." They feel like they must behave as though this is the sole day they get to show their love. That is not the right way to look at it. We love those special people 365 days a year, so we should be showing them that we love them every day. It obviously does not have to take the form of flowers, gifts, and chocolate every day, but they need to know we care. Special occasions and holidays are an opportunity for extra love. We really should be thinking, "I'll send my sweetheart flowers. It is Valentine's Day, after all." The holiday should be an excuse to show extra love, not the reason we show it. Not very many people treat it this way, and that needs to be changed.