Valentine’s Day for the (Non)Believer
Valentine’s Day is one of the most overrated, commercially-celebrated (non)holidays in the world. Like Christmas, Valentine’s Day has hugely benefited capitalism: sales of flowers, chocolates, jewelry, and other love-themed what-nots spike up during the love season. According to statistics from Hallmark (perhaps the most widely-known greeting card company), 188 million Valentine’s Day cards are sent out each year. Wow, that is a lot of paper!
Millions of Valentine’s cards aside, the reasons why Valentine’s Day is celebrated in this modern era are all confusing. The idea of giving a beau a box of heart-shaped candies may be sweet (pun intended), but not most people know how the holiday came about. Is it because people have forgotten the holiday’s roots as a direct effect of capitalism? Hmm, maybe not.
In the first place, the history of Valentine’s Day is unclear. Historians cannot point out exactly how, when or from whom it originated. There were countless historical Christian priests and martyrs named Valentine, each of whom could have been the influence for this holiday. Among the more plausible candidates, however, the story of a priest named Valentinus is the most widely known. Valentinus (or St. Valentine), was a devout Christian who was executed under Emperor Claudius II‘s order after refusing to convert to Roman paganism. When he was in jail, it was said that St. Valentine wrote to a jailer’s blind daughter whom he supposedly healed and loved. His last love letter, which he wrote a day before he was executed, was signed “From your Valentine.” How romantic.
If you are a (non)believer like me, it is easy to scoff at the stupidity and tackiness of Valentine’s Day. I don’t get why people go crazy over giving out ubiquitous bouquets of red roses, expensive chocolates in heart-shaped boxes, or jewelry that will constantly remind the other of how much money was spent. I admit that giving your loved one presents are actually beautiful and sweet, but to do so on the pretext of celebrating Valentine’s Day leaves a lot of room for discussion. Sharing or giving love (whether in material form or not), without the guise of celebrating a vague holiday or the expectation or assurance of receiving something back, is the sweetest, most beautiful thing.
Many people mistake gift-giving on Valentine’s Day as the penultimate way to celebrate love. To me, they are actually destroying the purest idea of love. In 1 Corinthians of the Bible, love is described as a virtue: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.”
You see, love does not need the excesses of Valentine’s Day to be profound-–it is already profound in itself. It does not mean, though, that I won’t admire and enjoy the beauty of the idea of celebrating love on Valentine’s Day because I would; albeit, without all the gift-store trappings.
So for what it’s worth, I’d like to greet my boyfriend a Happy Valentine’s Day. You know I love you.
