Love is in the Air

The colors pink and red are found everywhere during the month of February. From the grocery store to the work place, people are preparing themselves for one big day. February 14^th every year people have decided to dedicate as a “day of love.” It all started with the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, a fertility celebration that annually took place on February 15. The Pope Gelasius I then declared February 14^th to be St. Valentine's Day. Today, it is a day full of flowers, candies, chocolates, cards, and much more. Valentine’s Day is one of the most popular days of the year but can be viewed positively and negatively by many people. Yet what makes it so much more popular than any other day of the year?

 

Many people don’t even notice all the work and preparation that goes into Valentine’s Day, and not to mention the millions or billions of dollars spent. The average annual Valentine’s Day spending is $13.19 billion dollars. Wow! The idea of that much money going towards one day seems very ridiculous, but many Americans feel it is expected. Jack Frasier of Apex North Carolina explained, “I save extra money near Valentine’s Day so that I can afford a nice dinner and something special for my wife.” The average person spends about $116.21 on Valentine’s Day gifts each year, and apparently, it is worth it.

Most women expect men to do something special for them on Valentine’s Day. In fact, it has been shown that 53% of women would end their relationship if their significant other got them nothing for Valentine’s Day. The fact that over half of women would end a relationship because of one day is crazy. Shouldn’t everyday be like Valentine’s Day if you are in a relationship anyway? A person’s love and the way it is shown to his or her lover shouldn’t be restricted to just one day, it should be all year round.

Another view on Valentine’s Day is the idea that if you don’t have a significant other, the day totally sucks. Well, this is not true. Everyone has a person or people in their lives that they care about and this day can be a day to show them how much you care as well. People such as a mother, father, sibling, or even a friend needs to be shown love on this day too.

Another person you can treat on Valentine’s Day is yourself! Do something that you enjoy, and remember that you don’t have to be with anyone to do it. Even though Valentine’s Day seems vastly overrated, it is still a special day you can treat someone, or yourself, more than usual.

Just another day to many is not just another day for card companies and other big businesses that produced items frequently bought on the big day.  Approximately 150 million Valentine's Day cards are exchanged annually, making Valentine's Day the second most popular card-sending holiday after Christmas. Now that is a whole lot of cards! Flower companies are also very popular for Valentine’s Day. $403 Million is the average revenue of flower buying for Valentine’s Day. Imagine all those flowers!

Valentine’s Day is by far one of the most celebrated holidays out of the year. From flowers to chocolates, nothing will ever replace the true satisfaction that Valentine’s Day brings an individual.