I remember back in elementary school, we would all get excited for Valentine’s Day. Receiving all the kind gifts, sweet candies, and comical cards made the holiday the greatest. For children, Valentine’s Day was about loving everyone in your life and spreading that love to make everyone’s day better. That and another holiday eating candy, it wasn’t about love between significant others, but love and everyone around you.

As we grow up, we start to dislike the holiday, some people even have “anti-Valentine’s day” parties. A lot of people, usually in their late teens/early adulthood, tend to hate Valentine’s Day due to experiences in life such as having problems with losing friends and their current friendships. As we get older, we start to focus a lot on things that we did not care much about as young children such as having to have a significant other or otherwise there is no point of celebrating it. Also, many people hate the holiday due to the stigma of celebrating it alone. But there is no need to celebrate it alone when you can celebrate it with your friends.

I think many of us just need to have more of an open mind and celebrate, love, cherish, and appreciate our friends and family on Valentine’s Day.

An example of Valentine’s Day being more than a romantic holiday is the history. Legend has it that in third century Rome, a priest named Valentine was marrying young men and helping them see their families. This was against the orders of Emperor Claudius II because he thought that young men were better soldiers if they were not “distracted” by a wife and family. Even though the legend has romance included, families played an important role in the history (Source: History.com).

Many people hate the holiday due to the “cliche gifts” of chocolate and roses, all the restaurants, and thinking it is a    “corporate holiday” (Source: The Guardian). The cliche gifts don’t hurt anyone, especially if a person’s significant other enjoys the gifts. Sometimes the most simple gifts are the most meaningful ones. Some people also do not have a lot of money to spend and all they could afford are the “cliche gifts”. About the restaurants, many restaurants also tend to fill up during holidays such as mother’s day, no need to have unnecessary hate for Valentine’s Day. Almost all holidays are technically “corporate holidays” if you think about it. On most holidays, especially Black Friday, where so much money is spent on gifts for Christmas and trying to get good deals and snag items at “low prices”.  Also, every day you spend money on food, gasoline, etc. spending on a cute Valentine’s Day card and some flowers shouldn’t be a reason to hate Valentine’s Day.

Overall, there is more to Valentine’s day. Don’t let being single affect how you feel about this holiday. Make plans with your friends to hang out or suggest a family night. It should be a holiday where we can all enjoy the love with our friends, families, and significant others.