Opinion: Why I Hate Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and it always brings up a lot of mixed emotions for people. Some people hate Valentine’s Day, and some love it. Personally, I can’t stand it. To me, Valentine’s Day is just an excuse for people to act as if they care about their significant others. There doesn’t need to be a “holiday” to celebrate your significant other. 

It is such a cash-grabby holiday. You can get your significant other gifts on other days, either on random days or days that are significant to the relationship. Pay absurd prices to get heart-shaped candy and if you just want candy around this time, it has to be heart-shaped because that’s all any store has. Going into any store around Valentine’s Day means only seeing Valentine-themed items. The holiday is too obnoxious and for people who don’t have valentines, it can seem very mocking, which is hurtful to always be around in stores.

The materialism of it all also takes away from the fact that love is not just romantic. There is familial love and platonic love and so many other types of love that are not celebrated on Valentine’s Day. I would love to celebrate Valentine’s Day with my parents and my family members because I love them, but the holiday is so focused on couples that spending time with my family on Valentine’s does not even seem like an option.

Because Valentine’s Day focuses so much on getting material gifts, it doesn’t really allow people the opportunity to express their love in other ways. There are so many love languages besides giving gifts, but Valentine’s Day forces people to get and give gifts only. What about the people who like to just spend time with their partner? What about the people who would much rather just tell their partner how much they care about them?

I will say, though, that my favorite thing about Valentine’s Day is being able to buy all the discounted candy on Feb. 15. Valentine’s Day used to be about celebrating love, but now it’s all about material items. If you are in a relationship, you are expected to spend money on Valentine’s Day, and that’s not feasible for everyone. I don’t like getting gifts, and celebrating Valentine’s Day makes me feel like I have to want to receive gifts, even though I’d rather spend Valentine’s Day doing something with my significant other rather than giving and receiving gifts.

Valentine’s Day is outdated and annoying and should not get as much hype as it gets.