For as long as I can remember, my dad has despised Valentine’s Day. I used to think he was in the wrong, and that Valentine’s Day was a perfect excuse to celebrate love. I would always express my disappointment when I woke up on February 14 and there was no chocolate waiting for me downstairs. My dad consistently protested the trip to the store to get valentines for my elementary school class parties and avoided the greeting card aisle at CVS at all costs. It drove me insane that he cared so much about hating a holiday meant only for fun. 

Now, years later, I find myself agreeing with him.

  Valentine’s Day is a completely commercialized holiday. According to Hallmark’s website, the average person celebrating Valentine’s Day spent $143 in 2018. Maybe I’m the minority as a broke teenager, but that is $143 that I would rather keep in my bank account. Hallmark reportedly makes approximately $19 billion on Valentine’s Day merchandise alone each year. You should question the legitimacy of anything when a company profits that much from it. 

Americans flock to their local stores in an effort to “prove their love” to their significant others, and Hallmark, among other companies, profits from their insecurity. This brings me to my question: why do we need a holiday to show people we love them? Shouldn’t we do that every day? Shouldn’t they already know we love them without a cheesy overpriced card and some chocolates? My hope is that one day, everyone realizes the stupidity of a day dedicated to love. Love should be celebrated every single day, with no exceptions. 

In my opinion, the only reason that the typical Valentine’s Day gifts feel special is that they let people know that someone was thinking about them. Receiving a dozen roses on any day of the year would have the same effect, if not a better one, than on Valentine’s Day. 

Valentine’s Day looked very different in the 1920s and 30s before lithography made color printing possible. Hallmark was around back then and was producing hand-painted cards for the holiday, which not many people participated in. As soon as color printing was available and marketing machines were taking off, companies advertised Valentine’s Day as hard as they could to make a quick and easy profit. Their advertising efforts were all focused on luring more and more customers into celebrating the holiday because that meant more money for the companies. We have reached a point where “anti-Valentine’s Day” merchandise is almost as popular to purchase as pro-Valentine’s Day merchandise. Knowing that, can you tell me that Valentine’s day is not just an opportunity for these companies to profit? 

I am not saying that Valentine’s day is an awful holiday, I am instead saying that it has turned into a commercialized nightmare. There is nothing wrong with being kind and giving gifts to those you love, but the pressure put on people to purchase silly, wasteful things on a certain day of the year does not sit well with me. My message to you is that you do not need to fall prey to the commercial marketing that February 14 brings. You can show your appreciation for those around you without a Hallmark card or bag of Lindt truffles.

To hear the opinion’s of one of our Valentine’s Day loving staff members, click here!