By Maclyn Crnkovich Posted February 18, 2015
Most people think of Valentine’s Day as a time to buy chocolate and flowers for the girl they like. These gifts are often seen as tokens of love and affection, but why do people have to splurge money to show their love when most likely the relationship won’t last anyway?
The average American spends $133.91 on Valentine’s Day according to the National Retail Federation. This includes cards, gifts, candy, and dinner. In high school, this amount of money shouldn’t be spent on your significant other. It’s a waste of money, and when the couple breaks up, the gifts will not be of sentimental value anymore and will never be used again.
In a study done by two University of Georgia professors in 2008 entitled “A Holiday Loved and Loathed: A Consumer Perspective of Valentine’s Day,” Angeline Close and Greg Zinkhan argue that the materialism of this holiday has gone too far. Even the advertisements around the holiday make you feel like your relationship will perish if you don’t run out and buy your girlfriend a diamond ring.
Surprisingly enough, Valentine’s Day wasn’t started with giving young girls chocolate and gifts. The holiday was called Lupercalia, where Romans celebrated on February 15 to ensure protection from wolves. During this time, young men whipped people with strips of animal hide, and women usually took the blows in hopes of making them fertile according to articles.dailypress.com. A few centuries later, the holiday was celebrated in honoring a priest named Valentine who secretly performed marriages on soldiers after the King of Rome had banned it.
Recently, Valentine’s Day has absolutely no relation to any of those events whatsoever. It has been commercialized into a holiday that is over-the-top and is centered around chocolates, jewelry, and flowers.
“Honestly, I feel like Valentine’s Day is an excuse for girls to get free stuff. If you want to do something nice, go for it, but girls just always expect stuff on Valentine’s Day now and get mad when you don’t get them anything,” said student Stetson Roark.
Valentine’s Day is one random day in the year that society decides to shower their loved ones with affection and love, but has no meaning to any particular couple. It’s not like an anniversary or a birthday. It’s just a holiday that the world celebrates for no rhyme or reason. Why can’t everyone always love and show their loved ones attention on any other day of the year?
Jessie Schirrick contributed to this story.
