Of all the holidays celebrated across the world, Valentine’s Day is very possibly the most hated celebratory day. At the very least, it’s one of the most controversial.
For some people, Feb. 14 is a day that signifies the love that they share with their partner. Many people have special date nights, exchange gifts, and celebrate their love with one another. From pink hearts to gift-wrapped chocolates, Valentine’s Day is easy to celebrate when you have someone to celebrate with.
For other people, however, the holiday is a bleak reminder of what they are lacking. For many people, seeing happy couples sharing gifts and out on date nights only induces negative emotions and makes Valentine’s Day an uncomfortable and easily dislikable day of the year.
In my opinion, those people—those who hate Valentine’s Day due to their lack of a romantic partner—are missing out on so much of what the holiday is and what it could mean for them.
Valentine’s Day is a celebration of love; traditionally, this love is strictly romantic, but it does not need to be that way. Over the past couple of years, the trend of “Galentine’s Day” has become more and more popular. The concept of Galenine’s Day revolves around the idea that Valentine’s Day is not restricted to the romantic love that couples share.
To celebrate Galentine’s Day, groups of girls get together and participate in some of the traditional Valentine’s activities in celebration of the platonic love they share in their friendships.
I love the concept of Galentine’s Day because it promotes the idea that celebrating Valentine’s Day—celebrating love—does not only mean the romantic kind. Some of the most important parts of my life have always been my friendships. My friends are some of my favorite people in my life, and I love getting to spend a day with them in appreciation of our love and friendship.
Furthermore, Valentine’s Day is a time that you can spend celebrating the love in your family. I’ve never had a romantic Valentine to spend the day with, but every year on the 14th of February, I walk downstairs to see chocolates, flowers, and cliché stuffed animals covering the counter for me and my sister, laid out by my parents.
Because of this family tradition, I developed a love of the holiday that transcended the usual meaning of the day. I have always loved Valentine’s Day because I was taught that it was a day to spend with anyone you love, not just a romantic partner.
Celebrating love is not something that should ever have restrictions placed on it. The people who hate, dislike, or even just don’t really care about Valentine’s Day due to the most traditional meaning of the holiday are missing out on everything that it could be.
Feb. 14 is a day to celebrate love; whether that means romantic love, platonic love, familial love, or even self-love, there is a place in the holiday for everyone to experience and celebrate.
