Should Valentine’s Day be celebrated?

Should Valentine’s Day be celebrated?

Gabriella Parrella, Editor-in-Chief

Valentine’s day is an overall positive holiday since its all about love. People in relationships love the day, and single people hate it. Without the bias, should Valentine’s day really be celebrated? For starters, Valentine’s day seems like a good idea because, well, who doesn’t love love? Valentine’s day promotes a healthy feeling and a positive attitude toward others. Valentine’s day is a fun and special day for people in relationships. It can be an opportunity to share the love and show others you care about them.

On the contrary, Valentine’s day is super expensive. With the expectation of buying flowers, chocolate, teddy bears, and even jewelry, it all starts to add up. This may be possible for older people with incomes, but for young adults and teenagers, we’re all practically broke and unable to afford such items. Valentine’s day is an uncomfortable reminder for single people that they are still single. Single people feel pressured for not having a significant other to share the day with. This holiday may even have negative effects for people in relationships, as celebrating Valentine’s day can distract from the issues in a relationship. On a historical note, Valentine’s day celebrates Valentine’s death. It’s ironic to be celebrating over something that is mournful.

Valentine’s day is targeted to children just as much as it to couples. We all remember handing out and receiving treats and little cards from all of our classmates. This can be seen as cute as society is teaching children to love and appreciate one another. However, a more cynical approach to this would be that Valentine’s day is a quick way to make money. If you just think about it, the makers of Valentine’s day products make a lot of money. Typically, children from age five to ten buy the whole class a present, and there are about 20 children in each class. If the cheapest present costs three dollars and we take about 200 people in each grade, that’s six hundred dollars for just one grade in Hanover Township. That’s a lot of money to spend to spread love.

Whether or not Valentine’s day should really be celebrated, Valentine’s day has made its way to become a famous holiday. Let the people in relationships enjoy it, and for the single people out there, the time will come for you to enjoy it too.

My friends with boyfriends and girlfriends went out to dinner with their significant other and surprised each other with presents. Some of my friends brought candy to school and we enjoyed them together. Personally, I did not celebrate Valentine’s day but I enjoyed the day nonetheless. On the next day, Friday, seven of my friends and I went to go see a romantic comedy movie at the theaters. It was a fun way to share the love with my friends and keep the holiday alive.