A Totally Underrated Holiday

I am a hopeless romantic. My dad raised me on rom coms and I have been secretly dreaming of getting swept off my feet for years. Although it seems to be an unpopular opinion, I adore Valentines Day. I think it’s a totally underrated holiday. It’s a holiday I look forward to every year and I feel like the cheesy tradition of gifting your loved ones chocolate hearts and a dozen roses is so freaking cute. 

I also think that it gets a serious amount of undeserved flack from bitter singles and burnt-out couples. People in general have all kinds of slander directed towards Valentines. I often hear  things like “it’s a capitalist holiday”, aren’t they all? And, “you should be loving towards your partner every day of the year”, which I agree with and on the surface is fair criticism. 

First, let’s address the elephant in the room, “Galentines”. Besides from the fact that I think it’s stupid, it just doesn’t make sense. First off, if you are celebrating valentines with your friends, you’re still celebrating valentines. Valentines is about way more than just romantic love. It can also be about familial love, platonic love, in addition to romantic love. 

I am not saying that celebrating Valentines with the girls is wrong. I also think this tradition of getting your girls flowers and chocolates and watching “Ten Things I Hate about You” is undoubtable going to be fun. However, I have noticed a trend in that as soon as a romantic interest comes along, suddenly galentines doesn’t have the same appeal. Your bestie is suddenly less interested in celebrating platonic love. 

That’s my real problem with this twist on the holiday. Not only is it born out of jealousy but people forget that you can celebrate your friends and a boyfriend. I will be getting my roommate a flower and a valentine, and my coworkers valentines, and getting my boyfriend a gift. You don’t have to box yourself into one way of celebrating love. 

All this to say,  taking care of your friends and celebrating platonic relationships is just as much in the spirit of valentine’s day as celebrating your romantic partner. 

I also think that it’s not fair to give the criticism that you should be celebrating your partner everyday. Duh. Obviously. I also think that it’s not a bad thing to have a day dedicated to celebrating your partner. My boyfriend and I have crazy, and seemingly opposite  work schedules. Having a day that we take off to spend time together is sometimes the reminder you need to take a step back from the textbooks and to-do lists and dedicate a little  time to each other. 

On a side note, I think if you honestly are saying that you shouldn’t celebrate Valentines because you should be loving your partner anyways, then you probably shouldn’t celebrate anniversaries either since they are damn near the same thing. 

As for the capitalist holiday criticism, um, ya? What point are you trying to make? We live in a capitalist society. Everything costs something, and if you think something doesn’t cost you money? Think again. Eating at the dining center, never free, in fact it costs you thousands since you paid at the beginning of the semester. It’s just free since you don’t pay every time you go. Doing homework in your dorm? Not free. Even doing a hobby you enjoy in your home costs you time, and costs you the rent you pay to live there. 

Nothing is free. As an adult, I get to choose where I spend my hard earned cash. If I want to spend money on buying the kids at work silly valentines, that’s my business. And frankly, I care more about seeing the joy on people’s faces knowing that I remembered them, and I am thinking of them. That’s what Valentines is all about. 

Valentines is about taking a day to celebrate those you care about. It’s simple, and it doesn’t need to be over complicated. I think that’s why it’s one of my favorite holidays. As someone who has realized that “gifts” is part of my love language, I adore the chance to get something special for all the important people in my life. 

So have a good time this Valentines! Don’t get in your own way. Celebrate the people you love and eat some chocolate guys. Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!