Valentine’s Day is one of America’s most beloved Hallmark-esque holidays. Originally a dark pagan holiday, Valentine’s Day has been transformed into a capitalistic celebration rife with overconsumption and inflation.
It all started with the ancient pagan festival of Roman Lupercalia. During the festival, participants would beat women with the skins of sacrificed animals, believing it enhanced their fertility and health.
Along the way, Valentine’s Day became what it is now. According to some historical sources, the holiday’s namesake, Saint Valentine, was a Roman priest who ordained secret weddings during Emperor Claudius II’s reign.
However, rather than embrace Valentine’s Day as a celebration of love, our society now embraces carbon emissions, mass-produced, non-recyclable trinkets, gimmicky packaging and overconsumption.
As Valentine’s Day nears, many individuals feel pressure to buy extravagant gifts for their loved ones. The transactionalization of love and the holiday of love creates a social incentive to spend money on cheaply made products. Corporate giants manufacture social pressures to buy and gift with the intent of making couples feel the need to “prove” their devotion to one another.
Not only are many popular Valentine’s Day items disposable, single-use products destined to end up in landfills but they are also priced much higher than non-holiday-themed packages.
At the time of writing, for instance, Walmart sells a 16-pack of Ferrero Rocher with Valentine’s Day packing for $10.97, while the regular version only costs $8.44 — a $2.53 markup for a heart-shaped box.
Rather than succumbing to corporate pressures, couples should focus on spending quality time with one another. Valentine’s Day can still be meaningful without breaking the bank or harming the environment. If you ask me, quality time matters more than a parade of gifts, flowers or teddy bears.
A cozy movie night at home can be just as memorable as an extravagant night out. Despite being commercialized, Valentine’s Day is still a great opportunity to celebrate and appreciate the loved ones in our lives.
