Valentine’s Day is a holiday dedicated to showing your love for your romantic partner, but why can’t it be more than that? We should celebrate platonic relationships just as much as romantic ones on this day of love.
When I was a child, Valentine’s Day was something I always looked forward to. My parents would get me chocolates and a card, and I enjoyed handing out cards and candy to all of my friends at school. But as time went on, even through relationships, I realized how commercialized Valentine’s Day had become. It was less about love and more about how much you could buy. Now, it’s just another time I have to stress about finding the perfect present for my boyfriend.
Over the years, I’ve realized that Valentine’s Day is kind of redundant. Many couples celebrate their relationship milestones by going out to dinner or doing something special, just like they would on Valentine’s Day.
I’ve also noticed that couples are spending more and more money on presents for this holiday. It seems that Valentine’s Day has become less about love and chocolates and more about how much money you can spend. Due to social media, couples feel pressured to get each other extravagant gifts and eat an expensive dinner together to show their affection.
Along with being commercialized, Valentine’s Day comes off as exclusive because it seems made for couples. The cards and candy created for the holiday are marketed toward couples, leaving out single people and those of us who aren’t looking for love.
While romantic relationships are important for some of us, there are also people out there who are aromantic, meaning they aren’t interested in romantic relationships. Others would rather focus on their career or school, so a relationship isn’t at the top of their list. No matter the reason, there are many people who aren’t in relationships during this holiday, but they should be able to celebrate love too.
The name of this celebration of friendship and platonic love is called Palentine’s Day. Instead of going on a fancy dinner date or spending too much money on flowers and candy, consider spending the evening with some of your close friends.
Rather than celebrate a holiday that’s exclusive and commercialized, try out Palentine’s Day this year. While it’s a fairly new concept, there are lots of ways to celebrate friendship on Palentine’s Day: you could have a movie night or go out to eat with a group of friends. You could also celebrate by simply getting candy for your friends and letting them know you appreciate them.
