Valentine’s Day

Every February 14, people around the world celebrate Valentine’s Day. It is named after St. Valentine, through a Christian and ancient Roman tradition. “During the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of birds’ mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of Valentine’s Day should be a day for romance.” It became a day where loved ones show the love they have for another through flowers, chocolates and gifts. What people might not know about Valentine’s Day is that 1 billion cards are exchanged each year, making the holiday the second most popular card-sending holiday behind Christmas. Valentine’s Day has become a controversial holiday over the years because, some may think it’s an excuse to get something nice for their loved ones. When in reality, we should be gifting and showing our appreciation on any or every day. For some people the thought of showing love occasionally can be recondite and hard to aggregate. The thought of spreading love can seem egregious to people who’ve never been given the gift of love.

Video (Intro) : http://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/history-of-valentines-day/videos/bet-you-didnt-know-valentines-day

There are many reasons why Valentine’s Day shouldn’t be a holiday. Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be the day where a person must spend money on materialistic things, it can be idyllic. If a person really wants to go above and beyond to show a loved one how much they are appreciated, they should do it frequently, not annually on February 14. It’s good to spread love everyday not just for one day. “To save their classmate Rodrigo Guzman, 10, who was deported to Mexico, a group of fourth-graders devised a grand plan. They started an online petition that got 2,788 signatures, created a Facebook page and posted videos to YouTube.” Showing love and appreciation can be on any day of the year, to anyone. “The students have continued to explore “Rodrigo’s World” in smaller groups, sometimes logging on from home by themselves, sometimes chatting with Rodrigo at the same time on Skype.” The fourth graders showed how much they loved and cared about Rodrigo and his family. The pretext of this story is how Rodrigo’s classmates made an attempt to bring back Rodrigo, showing how vehement they were about their distant friend. This is the love that people in the world should have for each other everyday, spending money on monetary items isn’t what Valentine’s Day should be about.

Valentine’s Day can represent all of the love in the world, and its mascot, Cupid. The myth of Cupid begins with how he represents the holiday. “Over the years, he’s developed into an icon because of how unpredictable love can be. You’ll see him wear a blindfold, because love is blind…” Cupid is a cognate symbol of Valentine’s Day today, even though he was emblematic during the Greek and Roman times, more so than what he represents today. Valentine’s Day can also be an opportunity for couples to explore on a peregrination to bars and restaurants serving repast. Supporters of Valentine’s Day argue that it is all about spending time with your significant other. To many, the holiday represents love in every way, all shapes and sizes. The world would be a better place however, if we practiced love everyday like Rodrigo Guzman’s classmates.