It is nearing the time when stores are filled with the colors pink and red, and upon entering you are met with enormous teddy bears with their signature stitched in hearts embroidered with the exclamation “I LOVE YOU!”
February 14th, also known as Valentine’s Day, is the most overrated and capitalistic holiday. Sure, Christmas is capitalism and materialism wrapped into one big holiday, but Christmas has at least some positives. Valentine’s Day, on the other hand, serves no purpose.
Everyone’s argument in support of Valentine’s Day is, “Oh but you’re showing your partner you love them!” However, this is highly untrue. Through this holiday we equate love to gifts, normally pretty pricey and edible. This relationship between love and gifts is quite the opposite of love. The expectation and pressure of receiving and/or buying a gift are not a part of love. Valentine’s Day puts pressure on relationships and puts expectations on romantic partners. Gifts if given should be a surprise or out of one’s own will, not because a holiday tells them they must or they don’t love their partner.
Valentine’s Day is a capitalistic ploy to spend money. Stores are stocked with Valentine’s themed candy, cards, and stuffed animals; Restaurants are bursting out of their seams with reservations and couples; and jewelry stores are receiving their fair share of stressed-out boyfriends trying to find the perfect, sparkling gift. On average Americans spend 20 billion dollars on Valentine’s Day. The holiday was turned from being about love into a competition of who can get the best gifts and how much can each company make off these lovesick suckers.
Valentine’s Day is once a year. That gives couples 364 other days to go out to eat or buy gifts for each other.
All in all, Valentine’s Day isn’t evil, nor does it make you a bad person for celebrating. However, there is no need to stress out about the holiday. It is meant for companies to earn money and for couples to celebrate a silly holiday. So enjoy the holiday, and if you are single go buy yourself a box of chocolates and give in to the capitalism in which we live!
