Valentine's Day: A celebration of love or capitalism?
By Victoria Neece
Valentine’s Day is a holiday celebrated on the 14th of February every year to show love towards others with chocolate, flowers, cards and gifts. Some may see it as the latter, but others see Valentine's Day as a materialistic holiday that drains a ridiculous amount of money out of the pockets of millions of Americans. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), “Americans spent more than $21 billion on Valentine’s Day in 2021.” However, many Americans feel that Valentine's day is a celebration of love and its purpose is to bring joy to the lives of loved ones.
Overall, 53 percent of Americans plan to celebrate Valentine's Day this year, according to NRF. In order to see if Valentine's Day is really worth it or not, a survey was conducted among the student population. After reviewing the responses, Valentine's day is definitely a holiday that some really love but also really hate.
According to the survey, 60 percent of students said they were planning on celebrating Valentine's Day this year. Many believe that Valentine's Day is truly a day to celebrate one's love for others.
“I believe that Valentine's Day is worth it, as there are no real downsides to the holiday, it is a nice way to show how much you care about people,” said Josephine Signer.
Along with the feeling of love that Valentine's Day brings, some people also enjoy the holiday for traditions they have formed around it.
“Every Valentine's Day I exchange gifts with my family and have a gal-entine's day dinner with my friends,” said Lauren Johnston.
Although some love the Valentine's Day tradition, 40 percent of students said they weren't planning to celebrate Valentine's Day this year.
“Valentine's Day is not worth celebrating because couples should be able to express their love any time of year, and making a big deal out of one day just seems pointless,” said an anonymous BHS student.
Another argument some like to make against Valentine's Day is that it is just a financial hit.
“Valentine's Day could have meant something powerful, but it's since been taken over by American capitalism. While Valentine's Day could be a holiday to celebrate those you love most, it has turned into a contest to see who gets the biggest bouquet,” said Sarah Crowley.
Some students love the positivity and traditions that Valentine’s Day brings, while others think it is pointless and a waste of money. At the end of the day, whether it’s seen as a celebration of love or a shameless capitalistic ploy, Valentine's Day is here to stay.
Victoria is a junior. This is her second year as
a staff writer for The Growl and her first as social
media manager.
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