By Evelyn Lowen

Valentine’s Day is a cherished holiday that allows for the celebration and appreciation of loved ones. Created 1526 years ago on February 14, 496 AD, this special day honors love all around us. Not only applying to romantic partners, this celebration includes all forms of relationships. While it is necessary to cherish loved ones all 365 days of the year, this holiday serves as a reminder to ensure that those important people know that they are loved and appreciated. 

Not only is this holiday a chance to tell those significant people how much they are cared for, but it is also a perfect excuse to eat chocolates and candy of many different shapes and sizes all day, or perhaps even all season. Additionally, after February 14, the prices of candy plummet dramatically, going on sale for up to 80% off. 

Along with an abundance of sweets, Valentine’s Day brings new movies to theaters and online streaming sites. Movies coming out during this time can be humorous, emotional, uplifting, upsetting or a mix of everything. While they can sometimes be corny, it is refreshing to have a new selection to choose from. What more could you ask for than watching a new romantic comedy in theaters while tearing into a pack of heart-shaped Reese’s?

The introduction of new movies and candy are crucial in bringing excitement into the dreadful winter. This brutal season can often be a difficult time for many, and it is important to have events to look forward to. Valentine’s Day falls at the perfect time of year to give people motivation to persevere through the cold, strenuous winter. 

Another important aspect is the memories attached to the holiday. A core childhood memory for many revolves around Valentine’s Day. Creating and decorating a unique box that waited to be filled with thoughtful notes and precious candy from classmates was one of the most exciting activities of the year. Not only was this celebration fun and exhilarating, it also connected classmates together as they shared kind-hearted letters. 

While many perceive this holiday as cliché and consumeristic, it really is just a day to celebrate love and show gratitude to those we care about. Forget the chocolates, movies and cards, just take this day to ensure that your loved ones know the amount they are appreciated, cared for and thought about.

By Matthew Wagner

Valentine’s Day sucks. It is the biggest offender of the ever-increasing number of consumeristic holidays. The holiday causes nothing but unnecessary stress and angst in everyone, whether you are in a relationship or not. 

Any of the redeeming qualities of this God-forsaken holiday are vastly outweighed by its numerous cons. Primarily, Valentine’s Day is supposed to be a celebration of love, not just an opportunity to buy mediocre chocolates and corny cards. 

Not only does it feel manufactured, but there is so much unnecessary dread surrounding the holiday. All day long, and during the season as a whole, you are pressured to feel the “love in the air.” It feels forced, which is something love should never be.

A central argument for this holiday is that it is a great opportunity to tell people they are loved. While this is true, showing that special someone that you love them should be a year round event, not just a one day thing. 

The uninteresting and frankly boring candies are another defining element of Valentine’s Day. The bland, extremely uninspiring sweets are a tasteless parody of the holiday as a whole.  

Another staple of Valentine’s Day is the never ending stream of cringy, hard-to-watch films that seem to propagate this time of year. This should go without saying, but, oh my Lord, every single one of the movies are bad. However, this cesspool of bad films is not entirely to blame for the holiday’s media-oversaturation. Some argue that the movies help bring light into a dark time of year, but what good do the movies do if they are all bad? 

A substantial amount of the oversaturation also stems from the enormous number of Valentine’s Day songs which dominate the radio every February. “Classics” like the album Heart Break Kodak by rapper/singer-songwriter Kodak Black are part of the problem. Heart Break Kodak is an album filled with uninteresting love songs with uninspiring, unoriginal lyrics that Black released on Valentine’s Day in 2018. There are already far too many Valentine’s Day songs, we do not need anymore. 

February is already a cloudy, lifeless month that is a grind to get through. Valentine’s Day only serves to worsen the many cons that exist in this cold, barren time of the year. Many say it is a bright light which serves to illuminate the depressing months we face every winter but in reality, the holiday only makes the season worse.