In Love with Love

What’s there to hate about Valentine’s Day?

By: Sommer Wagen

One might say that the only good thing about Valentine’s Day is the discount candy left over on store shelves afterwards. While I’m not complaining about this aspect, I do take issue with the idea that the holiday only exists to guilt people who aren’t in romantic relationships and extort gifts out of those who are. Reducing it to those soulless intentions undermines the very idea it celebrates. Valentine’s Day is the one day a year we get to celebrate love, which is an overwhelmingly positive and oftentimes life-changing force, no matter who or what it’s directed towards. It’s absolutely something that deserves its own holiday.

Valentine’s Day is the day you can show your unabashed appreciation for the people in your life, and it doesn’t have to include a romantic partner. One Valentine’s Day in high school, I gave Valentines to my art teachers. I wanted them to know how much I appreciated everything they had done for me. I wouldn’t be where I am or be the person I am today without them; in truth, I love them. You don’t always have the opportunity to let people know how much they mean to you, and Valentine’s Day gives you that opportunity. Even then, you don’t have to spend money on someone to show your love for them. A simple word or act of appreciation—a kind word, a hug, even a handmade valentine—can go a long way for anyone.

Understandably, Valentine’s Day can be alienating for many people. Not everyone is in a romantic relationship or experiences romantic attraction, and being bombarded with it can be overwhelming. While Valentine’s Day has historically been centered on romantic love, that is by no means the only way love manifests. The ancient Greeks had 6 different words for love, including that between lovers, between friends, between a parent and child, and for oneself. If Valentine’s Day is a celebration of love, we should celebrate it in all of its forms. And where is the heart in commodifying love? If the longstanding traditions of a holiday no longer serve us, it’s entirely within our power to change them.