By HEATHER THOMPSON
Valentine’s Day is slowly becoming less about the emotional connection between two people and more about the gifts that they buy one another as businesses continuously push the commercial side of the holiday. That’s not how it should be.
It is almost guaranteed that in the weeks leading up to February 14, the insides and aisles of practically every convenience store and shopping mall are adorned with pink and red hearts and frilly decorations in celebration of this festival of love. Shelves are stocked with stuffed bears, sappy cards, boxes of chocolates, and more. The constant presence of these aisles of gifts only enforces the idea that buying things is what one should do for their significant other on this holiday and that the size of the gift is equivalent to the love one holds for another.
“Love isn’t really measured by anything besides gifts anymore,” says Michelle Taylor, a senior at Matawan Regional High School (MRHS). She adds, “Valentine’s Day is supposed to be about the love two people have for one another, but when stores and television are constantly telling you that the only way to make your significant other happy is by buying gifts, it’s kind of hard not to give in to that aspect of the holiday.”
Kyra Mettrock, also a senior at MRHS, agrees with Michelle. She says, “It’s like your love for the other person is measured by what you buy. I get so stressed out by the fact that telling my boyfriend I love him apparently isn’t enough. It’s like I have to buy him something, or I don’t care enough.”
The idea of not getting back what you’re putting out is a major issue most people encounter on this holiday. Rather than focusing on their emotional connection with one another and the fact that no amount of gifts will ever be equivalent to the love between them, couples still feel obligated to go out and spend insane amounts of money on gifts in order to substantiate their feelings. In fact, 53% of women will end a relationship if they don’t receive some sort of gift. As time goes on, Valentine’s Day is becoming more and more about the number of gifts and the amount of money put into those gifts.
“People are convinced that their relationship entirely depends on this one day, that the gifting of a box of chocolate can make or break a relationship. Sentimental words are exchanged through cards that someone else wrote, rather than coming from the heart,” says Holly Thompson of Matawan. Thompson adds, “I think people should focus more on showing love and affection for the other 364 days, rather than struggling to impress someone with how much money they spend on just one day. Valentine’s Day should be about love, not stuff.”
Stores and businesses are pushing expensive gifts and gestures more than ever, only adding to the idea that Valentine’s Day is about giving and receiving gifts instead of love. We need to forget about the stuff and words written by some random stranger and get back to words and gestures that come from the heart, or else we risk losing grasp on the true significance of Valentine’s Day.
