A Raider’s View - Valentine’s Day’s crushing commercialism

Valentine’s Day, a marking on every calendar, but what if that one marking holds too high of a standard for young couples experiencing Valentine’s Day with their significant others for the first time?

The history of Valentine’s Day runs deeper than sappy cards and not-so-romantic teddy bears featuring “I love you” symbols on them.

“Approximately 150 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged annually, making Valentine’s Day the second most popular card-sending holiday after Christmas,” according to History.com

In France, people believed that Feb. 14 was the beginning of mating season for birds, so the idea was resurrected that it should be a day for romance, according to History.com. Another look at Valentine’s Day stems from the death of St. Valentine himself. It was said when he was almost killed for helping Christians escape the Roman prisons, and when he was imprisoned, he sent a “valentine” to a girl he was in love with (possibly the jailer’s daughter) signed, “From your Valentine,” according to History.com.

This history of Valentine’s Day and the pure romantic gestures that fell upon the day many years ago, turned into an over-priced, over-advertised and almost meaningless holiday if you only look at it for its commercial value.

“[Hallmark Corporation] research reveals that more than half of the U.S. population celebrates Valentine’s Day by purchasing a greeting card,” according to History.com. Moreover, “over 50 percent of all Valentine’s Day cards are purchased in the six days prior to the observation,” according to History.com.

This goes to show that individuals are concerned with the materialistic value of things for Valentine’s Day, instead of the physical or mental aspect of being close to a significant other or loved one. I’m not saying you should completely forget about the material stuff, because it is kind of nice to receive flowers or teddy bears, but the numbers are astonishing to think about in terms of how many people truly base the holiday around buying a card. My challenge to anyone with significant others, find a random day — a Tuesday perhaps — and do something nice for your other half. Break the stereotype and create a new mold for the new generation.