Valentine’s Day is a widely celebrated holiday and many people have specific feelings about it. Their feelings vary due to many factors; some love the holiday, spending it with their partners/spouses, while others find the holiday to be lackluster for numerous reasons. But there is one incredibly valuable detail we are missing, the roots of the holiday, and how we have gotten off track.
When it comes to the holiday itself there is more meaning in the way it is meant to be celebrated. Do you remember the small Valentine’s Day cards your teacher would let you pass around to everyone? This inclusion encompasses the true meaning of what Valentine’s Day stands for. To include someone regardless of who they are is something that has been lost in the passage of time, even the small span from elementary school to high school.
Taking a look at how students here at Horizon feel on Valentine’s Day, Addi Geiling (they/she) and Kai Kloppel (they/them) who are both freshmen this year had some insight to share. The couple has been together for six months. The pair shares their plans for Valentine’s Day. When Kloppel was asked, they stated, “I’ma take her to Build-A-Bear again and take her to a nice boba tea shop for a date.” When the same question was posed to Geiling, she gave a vague answer, “It’s a secret ahahah I’m making a gift for Kai.”
The two together say virtually the same thing when asked what the meaning of Valentine’s Day was. Saying that the two of them have always viewed the holiday as a time to give gifts to people you care about, and that it wasn’t limited to just romantic partners. This sentiment echoes from the days the two spent together and the days when they were single. Their opinions are unwavering and they aren’t the only ones who share this sentiment.
The biggest question posed was how would someone who is single feel about this compared to those who are in relationships. After a chat with Rae Robinson, a mother of one of Horizon’s freshmen, and a single mom, proclaimed that something was in the air around Valentine’s Day. She was firm in her beliefs that Valentine’s Day wasn’t solely focused on romance, even sharing who her valentines this year were… her kids! The real meaning of Valentine’s Day she states is “To celebrate love and connections with other people, and make other people happy”
Liam Montoya, a single senior here at Horizon had a lot of heart warming things to say. When posed with the feelings he faces as the holiday approaches, he shared the philosophy which he lives by: “I feel more lonely but also not because I like seeing the people that I love, be loved, and give love. I feel different, but more happy than sad.” But he says he has never specifically thought of Valentine’s Day as a romantic holiday, but one that you spend time with all the people you love regardless of what type of love it is.
Even though Elizebeth Sedelnick, a math teacher here at Horizon, is in a four-and-a-half-year relationship with her boyfriend, Matt, she implies that Valentine’s Day had been hard for her when she was single. Sharing, “When I was single I was like oh man, I don’t want to participate in Valentine’s Day. It was just a reminder like other people and how they had some relationship and I did not. Everyone was out there with their significant other while I was sad.”
And although this issue she faced is one of the past, she still says Valentine’s Day is still a holiday for couples, saying, “Honestly I think it’s just to celebrate with your significant other, I think that’s the purpose.” Promoted as to why she believes this, she talks about the societal impact when it comes to Valentine’s Day. Implying that the way it is promoted makes many including herself think that Valentine’s Day is for couples.
Sedelnick’s last thoughts on what Valentine’s Day could be, and her hopes for the future: “I think it could be changed to just positive relationships because I think that would make people feel better.” In the end it’s one’s personal outlook on the holiday itself that affects the view they have on Valentine’s Day.
In the end is Valentine’s Day really flowers, corporate greed, chocolates, and exclusion? It’s up to others to make that call.
