Valentine’s Day. The one day of the month that surrounds itself by love, longing and loyalty in a distracting and colorful fashion.
The overwhelming amount of pink and red decorations could fool anyone into thinking that this holiday is anything but a larger scheme being controlled by franchises and grocery stores across the globe.
When you’re being blinded by the six-foot teddy bears, heart-shaped boxes and influx of candy, one could say it’s easy to get wrapped up in the idea of it all.
Although it is tempting to be seduced by the prospect that Valentine’s Day hasn’t transformed itself into one big commercial, the true nature lies elsewhere. At the end of the day, the festivities mold themselves right into the hands of businesses, both big and small.
In my experience, the holiday used to be something I looked forward to because it was so wholesome for me. Whether it be the flowers, the chocolates, the cards, I loved it all.
However, in the past several years, I’ve found that the initial compassion was lost somewhere along the line and I hold large corporations responsible for that. Because of their undying need to profit off of any holiday, they saw the opportunity for a money pit on Valentine’s Day and took it.
Alex Nguyen, a fourth-year psychology major, possesses a similar attitude towards the occasion. “I think Valentine’s is a waste of money because it puts an emphasis on putting extra love or effort into a single day, when you could instead put that money towards other necessities,” he said.
Rather than averting money to spend on more practical commodities, people are using it to fulfill what they believe to be a sensible expression of “love.”
To introduce another related issue, I also place some of the blame on social media for smudging the criteria of what love entails and what it doesn’t. The symbolism has become so convoluted that the amount of gifts equates to the amount of love, thus feeding into the commercialized stigma. Materialism in and of itself has taken over the authenticity of the spiritual values meant to define Valentine’s Day.
Nguyen agrees with the media’s influence.
“The media tells people that they have to spend an ‘X’ amount of money or go to a super nice dinner in order to show their love, but that isn’t the case,” Nguyen said. “After holiday candy leaves the shelves, grocery stores immediately restock with heart-shaped chocolate boxes and conversation hearts. It’s a system that runs like clockwork.”
At the end of the day, it isn’t that spending money and feeding into the stereotype of the holiday is a bad thing. It’s just important to also keep in mind that Valentine’s Day isn’t all about the gifts, as it is about why you’re giving them.