Anti-Valentine’s Day: Written by Annarely Rodriguez
The Beatles did a lot of things right. One of them was saying “All you need is love.” You don’t need a cheesy greeting card or an expensive bottle of perfume. You just need each other, right?
But it seems we have lost track of that. Every year, February rolls around and couples spend hundreds of dollars on expensive lingerie and fancy dinners. It seems that’s what love has been reduced to.
Why? Well, stores need to get back on track after the holiday season, and you and your significant other are the perfect targets. Now, before you accuse me of being a paranoid hippie, think about this: when was the last time you bought your girlfriend flowers or your boyfriend tickets to that game he really wanted to go to? Was it last year around this time?
You don’t see a problem with that?
You should show how much you love and appreciate each other throughout the year, not just one day. And Valentine’s Day reduces it to just that, an over-commercialized day for the greeting card industry.
I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with celebrating your love, but you should do it because you want to and not because it’s a tradition. There’s nothing loving about being forced to tell someone you love them.
Sure, Valentine’s Day is not just for lovers. It’s about friendship, too. Right, that’s why you see Victoria’s Secret enticing you to buy your best friend that bra she’s been wanting.
Valentine’s Day may have started as a way to honestly honor love and friendship, but it’s not anymore. Today, Valentine’s Day is a day to spend hundreds of dollars on an expensive dinner and make the people who are single feel like there is something wrong with them for not having a partner.
So, this Valentine’s Day I encourage you to spend the day with your best friend, hanging out, doing nothing and actually enjoying each other’s company.
If you’re one of the people lucky enough to have your other half, wait for Feb. 15 and tell each other how much you love and appreciate each other or do something special today. Because all you need is love, not one single day to express it. That should be every day.
Pro-Valentine’s Day: Written by Keren Moros
The world is divided into three sets of people: those who love Valentine’s Day, those who hate Valentine’s Day and those who could care less. I’m in the first, and best, class. I’ve always wondered how people can possibly dislike or be apathetic toward a day dedicated to love.
The Beatles summarized it well: “All you need is love.” Valentine’s Day is a day to remember that love is the most important thing in our lives. It’s more than just an emotion. It’s a choice we make to stand beside those we care about, to accept them for who they are now and who they will be in the future.
Although Valentine’s Day, like every other holiday, has become commercialized, the reason is because there’s a demand for Valentine’s Day products. People take time out on Valentine’s Day to remind those they they care about how special they are. That’s why they buy Valentine’s Day products. It’s a supply and demand for love — not a devaluation of a special day.
This one day remains special because it isn’t only for lovers. It’s for anyone who feels love for another person and acts on this love every day. Some people express it with cards and some with chocolate hearts. Others go on romantic getaways, and others give their friends gifts. Some simply say, “Happy Valentine’s Day.” My dad gives my sister, my mom and me flowers. It doesn’t matter how it’s celebrated because everyone cherishes the loved ones in their lives.
The cynics can cry as loudly as they want that those who love need to wake up to the harsh “there’s-more-hate-than-love-in-this-world” reality. But those of us who truly love know that we love imperfectly and that our hearts are fragile. However, in doing so, we vow to live a better life and to put someone else’s needs before our own. When that’s our reality, the world becomes a better place. That’s why it’s great that we have an entire
day dedicated to this idea, and there’s no reason anyone should want to dislike a day that celebrates it.
Beyond the cupids, the chocolate hearts, Sweetheart’s candy and the cheesy commercialism, Valentine’s Day is ultimately about love, which is the greatest gift we can give to anybody. Take advantage of this Valentine’s Day and the ones to come. Celebrate its message by reminding the special people in your life that they’re important to you. Love is the strongest thing in the world. The more reasons we have to celebrate that, the better.
