It’s Valentine’s Day and department stores have been ready since the day after Christmas. A spectacle of pink and red hearts line the shelves, as you start worrying about who’s going to be your Valentine.
The overwhelming embellishment of Valentine’s Day has created new pressure around the holiday. The flower and candy sales skyrocket around the week of February 14th. And in recent years there has been an abundance of Valentine’s Day decor, trickling into the hands of the easily influenced consumer.
Known as a day of love and fertility, the tradition of Valentine’s Day has good intentions. Although for many it’s a day where people feel extra lonely, sad, or abandoned. The weight people put into Valentine’s causes stress and expectations that are hard to meet, causing a negative view of the holiday that is meant to promote love and happiness.
For others, pressure to celebrate Valentine’s Day is due to the commercialization of the holiday, and in turn, many don’t even consider it a real holiday. The commercial pressure to celebrate and buy into holidays (specifically Valentine’s Day) has discouraged people from celebrating the holiday altogether.
Although Valentine’s Day comes with overpowering commercialization and disappointment, the sentiment of the holiday is an excellent reminder to tell your loved ones you love and appreciate them and maybe even receive some chocolate.
Remember in 2nd grade when you would get to pick out Valentines for your class and come home from school with a box of reminders that someone thought of you. Sets of Valentines are not reserved only for kids, taking the idea to give to coworkers, friends, and loved ones could be a fun, nostalgic opportunity to continue to spread love. Even if it’s not formal valentines, this February remember to let someone know that you thought of them and care about them, even if it’s yourself.
Valentine’s Day should not be the only time of year that you tell your loved ones that you love them, but it should serve as a reminder to tell the people around you that they are important to you. Whether it’s platonic love, romantic love, familial love, self-love, or even love for your pets. Loving each and every person all year round is so important.
When you consider Valentine’s Day as an opportunity and reminder to love everyone all year round, the commercial and social pressures put on the holiday are lessened making it more enjoyable. The heart-shaped chocolate and teddy bears can serve as a reminder of the love you have to give, not only on February 14th but also the other 364- or 365 – days of the year. Rather than a moment of the disappointment you feel on the day.
Today, tell someone whether it be yourself, your pet, a friend and partner or even a stranger that you appreciate them.
