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Valentine's Day: The love-hate relationship

Two of our writers wanted to express their different views on Valentine’s Day.

 

Roses are red, violets are blue, I love Valentine’s and so should you - Mirva Villa

 

You can call it the invention of the flowershop owners and card makers all you want, but I will always look at Valentine’s Day through rose-tinted glasses.

‘But it’s all just commercialism and waste of money’, you say. It doesn’t have to be.

Love comes in all shapes and sizes, and it fits all budgets.

Nice dinner, flowers and a little gift or a card – all these are nice gestures but if you can’t afford it, well, your relationship won’t break apart because of that.

On the other hand, consider this – would it be so bad to get your s.o. a card to remind them how important they are to you?

‘You shouldn’t treat your partner any differently just because it’s Valentine’s’, I hear your cynic little voice pipe in.

And I agree! Valentine’s Day is not the day to brush over past mistakes or make promises of a better future. It should be a day when the couple celebrates the love that they already have.

Relationships may not be for everybody, but there is nothing wrong with extending Valentine’s Day to be all about your friends.

In my home country, Valentine’s Day is first and foremost a celebration of friendship.

In the end, it doesn’t matter whether you are celebrating the day with the love or your life or all your single ladies – both deserving causes for a day of their own.

 

Can’t Buy Me Love - Lily Coleman

 

Valentine’s Day is a day filled with red hearts, flowers, chocolates, and various other gifts that are said to represent true love.

To me it’s just another day on the calendar.

Although that doesn’t mean I’m a cynic that doesn’t believe in love, I simply don’t fall into the consumerist trap that many consider a holiday.

Why is it that we have to serenade someone or shower our partners with gifts in order to prove how we feel?

Surely we can say I love you without a giant teddy bear, love letter, or diamond ring, so why does society continue to persuade us to spend?

I disagree with the idea that the amount of money spent on a person directly correlates with the depth of emotion felt.

Of course receiving gifts is nice but it is hardly essential in a relationship.

Love should not be limited to a one-day celebration but should be expressed all the time.

Valentine’s Day has and always will be an excuse for shops to try and sell us something we do not need. It is one of the perfect capitalist holidays.

How else can we express how we feel without treating someone to an expensive meal?

Instead of promoting healthy ideas of romance, it promotes the unrealistic attitude that you can buy a person’s affection.

You don’t need money to prove your love.

Be original and thoughtful with your grand gestures instead.

And what about the single people out there?

Where is their day?

Instead of celebrating love, it reinforces the ideology that love is essential for happiness.

There’s nothing wrong with being single but our obsession with Valentine’s Day seems to suggest otherwise.

Whilst February 14th does offer a perfect opportunity to reveal your true emotions, why do we need a day dedicated to this?

If you love someone, tell them.

Show them.

Don’t sit around for 364 days waiting to do it.

If you do, you may find it’s too late.