Valentine’s Day is a holiday celebrated globally with cards, chocolates, candies, and flowers for the sole purpose of showing love and affection, but was not exactly brought up that same way. Masked by gifts and compensation, people tend to forget how Valentine’s Day came into existence. Despite being predominantly celebrated by Christians, especially Roman Catholics, the holiday is celebrated on February 14th in honor of Saint Valentine, the patron saint of lovers who was martyred by Roman Emperor Claudius II, in 269 A.D., on that same day. 

Over the years, many beliefs and stories about St. Valentine have been passed down through generations. The main belief as to why Valentine was put to death was because he was a priest that happened to defy Emperor Claudius’ decree of outlawing marriage; Valentine thought his proclamation to be unjust and continued to perform marriages in secret. When his actions came to Claudius’ attention, he was executed. Another story revolves around the assumption that Valentine himself wrote the first “valentine” while imprisoned to the jailor’s daughter, declaring his love for her; he even signed the letter “From your Valentine.” 

Nowadays, many people tend to celebrate the holiday by showering their loved ones with extra love through gifting candy and cards. When asked how he celebrates Valentine’s Day, Pennridge High School history teacher, Mr. Cousineau stated “I’m always rushing out at the last minute, after work, to CVS to get a card for my wife and there are about 30 other guys in the card aisle doing the same thing. There are no cards left; they’re all pathetic cards, and you know that your wife is going to know that you waited until the last minute because the card is 99 cents and just has a heart on it.” Although amusing, Mr. Cousineau, like many others, believes that Valentine’s Day is just like any other day of the year. In 2019, a poll done by Fox Business showed that only half of the Americans they interviewed said that they celebrate Valentine’s Day. Mr. Cousineau added a quote from a past student that said “ ‘Valentine’s Day is just a marketing scheme for card companies to make money.’ ” Despite somewhat of a harsh quote, it is the truth of the matter. The National Retail Federation estimated the total retail spending on Valentine’s Day in 2019 to be about $20.7 billion, which was a six percent increase from the previous year. The jewelry industry happens to lead the other industries with the largest boost in sales on Valentines, which include: clothing, flowers, candy, and cards.

While there are many theories as to who St. Valentine was, he is remembered as a heroic and sympathetic figure, who is celebrated annually on February 14th. Even though the holiday’s participants do not necessarily recognize St. Valentine on this particular day, they acknowledge and reciprocate his actions of love and affection that are shown towards loved ones; even if their way of returning their admiration is through purchasing gifts.