Love is in the air as the supermarket aisles overflow with red and pink. Valentine’s Day began as a day where simple gestures, such as writing letters, were made to show love to those that we value in our daily lives. Over the course of time, Valentine’s Day has grown to become one of the most commercialized holidays in America.

 This sincere holiday should be more about love and less about materialistic items such as heart shaped chocolates and jewelry.

It is predicted that in this year alone $23.9 billion will be spent on purchases related to Valentine’s Day. Although spending any amount of money on a significant other is often appreciated, many fail to realize not everybody has the means to go all out for the occasion. Due to the way that this holiday has been represented through the media, many individuals feel pressured to purchase overpriced gifts. Masses of people feel that if their gift isn’t grand enough they are doing a poor job showing their love. 

Unfortunately, children learn the commercialism of Valentine’s Day at a young age. Numerous elementary schools have Valentine’s Day parties in which students are required to bring a valentine to each student in their class. The valentines that students bring are often candies decorated with red, pink, hearts and cute messages that are bought at chain stores such as Walmart. When this is done it completely throws off the true meaning behind Valentine’s Day, which is to celebrate those that you love. It creates the idea that in order to prove your love you must buy something from a store. This idea will more than likely stick with the child throughout their whole life. On top of that, store bought valentines carry no genuine meaning. Within a week of the holiday all these valentines will be in the trash can, and end up being a total waste of time and money. 

Rather than lovers spending money on objects this holiday, they should show love through actions, words and maybe even handwritten letters. The concept of love these days has become so faded, and this holiday only adds to that. This romantic day should be seen as an opportunity to sweep your partner off their feet, and show them just how much they truly matter to you. This Valentine’s Day people should spend more time than money on those that they love.

These days spouses, friends and partners rush into stores spending outrageous amounts of money on gifts that will more than likely end up in a landfill or gifts that hold no true value.