Valentines Day. Love it or hate it, it still comes around every year. When accompanied with roses and chocolate, it seems great.  Some may ask, where is the line between a holiday for people and a holiday for money and companies.

This year, finder.com, a survey website, anticipated 19.2 billion dollars to be spent on the holiday. “I didn’t buy very much [Valentines things] this year, but I know a lot of people who did,” Sophomore Sophia Klisis said. Many people use this holiday as an opportunity to shower their loved ones in sweet gifts and affection. 

Many see Valentines day as a classic example of  “Hallmark holiday,” a holiday perceived as being created for commercial value and not for something that has an importance historically or religiously.. “My parents bought my sister and I candy and went on a date. I mean, Valentine’s Day is fun whether or not you think it’s an evil corporate thing,” said sophomore Fiona McGinnis. 

“It’s 100% a Hallmark holiday but it’s still fun. It’s another reason to go out to dinner and spend some time with your significant other, ” said community member, Chad Nitta. The holiday can appear to be all about gifts but also about enjoying yourself and having fun. 

“I watched a dumb movie with my friends and goofed off the whole day. It was actually super fun and kinda took my mind off of the fact that I didn’t have anyone specific to share the day with,” Klisis said.

 “It was kind of a Galentine’s day for us I guess, it was fun to have the day off from school and be able to hang out with those I like to spend time around. We watched a movie and just kind of chilled,” said McGinnis. Many people like McGinnis spend the day or week leading up as an excuse to binge rom-coms or other romantic movies.

This year’s hit movie of the holiday PS I Still Love You was the sequel to the Netflix Original To All the Boys I Loved Before. McGinnis and Klisis both liked it but found it not quite as good as the original. “It was fun to watch but it was also sort of a useless movie. Good for the holiday, though,” said Freshman Maya Banks. The first movie was the second top-watched movie in 2018. Lana Condor, who played the main character in the movies, had a net worth of nearly 2 million dollars at the end of 2018. 

“My favorite part of Valentine’s day is the on sale candy at Target on the 15th” said Banks, “It’s so overpriced before [Valentine’s Day].” Despite the overpriced candy, flowers, and plushies, many still buy into the holiday and provide gifts for those around them. 

The holiday may originate from ancient Roman times when Emperor Claudius II banned marriage due to distraction from the army and the wars he wanted to rage on other empires. St. Valentine would secretly marry people and ended up getting beheaded for this on February 14th. A very gory origin for a romantically-centered day. 

Valentine’s Day may be an odd holiday, centered around money and buying things, but it still provides fun and joy to the students of RV and people around the world.