Valentine’s Day was first celebrated as the Pagan festival Lupercalia. As views shifted and times changed, the holiday began to lose its romantic charm. To me, February 14th began to resemble any other day on the calendar, except everything was more expensive and people bragged about the expensive gifts they had received, not the person they had received.  Valentine’s Day has become nothing more than a day of mass production, and increased profits for big businesses. What better way to spread the love than with a $55 bouquet of a dozen roses?

On average each person on Valentine’s Day spends around $130.97. $18.6 billion is the total amount of spending that accumulates on this holiday.

When asked what his opinion on Valentine’s Day was, Sophomore Preather Preuitt stated,

“I believe that Valentine’s Day is an unnecessary corporate holiday that is used to make money off of useless mindsets.”

Prices on Valentine’s day are prone to increase, making items two to three times more times expensive. Restaurants also take advantage of this holiday by creating pre-fixed menus with pricier options.

“I feel like big companies like Hershey’s and other chocolate, and other candy companies make a lot more money on Valentine’s Day like on Halloween, just because that’s what people think is the concept of the holiday. I feel like it’s just a big day to make money,” said Preuitt.

Valentine’s Day has become more so a day to show someone how much you love them, on a day where billions of other people feel inclined to do the same, by how much you spend.

“There shouldn’t be a specific day for when you decide to love someone. If you actually like someone you’re not just going to like them on Valentine’s Day. Like, today is a special day I’m going to buy you flowers today but not any other day except for Valentine’s Day so you better ration those,” stated Preuitt.