Valentine’s Day: The Best and Worst Day of the Year

February 14 is a magical day for most, best spent with their significant other sharing a milkshake at the soda shop exchanging “I love you’s” and meaningful conversation.

For others, it’s a despicable time when every heart-shaped balloon and candy necklace reminds you that you are in fact, single.  You’d wrinkle your nose at the mushy couple sitting a booth over from you at the soda shop and roll your eyes at the romantic gestures.

We’ve all been in one or both of the scenarios mentioned above. Valentine’s Day can either bring out your romantic side or have you feeling extremely grouchy.

But before all the fan fare Valentine’s Day was a day to celebrate the loss of an honorable priest.

The day’s origins start in Rome where St.Valentine, an Italian priest, married a Roman soldier in secret as marriage had been banned due to war. He was eventually ousted and was stoned to death on February 14.

Along the years Valentine’s Day has morphed into something a little less morbid and has taken on a life of its own. And now rather than mourn the death of a noble man we compete to see how much we love our special someones with over the top candy grams and bouquets of roses.

According to the National Retail Federation, 18.2 billion dollars was expected to be spent on valentine related products along including flowers, candy hearts, jewelry, and cards.

A person will justify spending large amounts of money on these things by telling themselves it proves to another person how much they care for them.

And it is, admittedly, nice to be showered with gifts and treats but to what extent? People often go overboard while expressing their love. Just imagine trying to haul that life-sized teddy bear around school all day or even the study ache that comes with eating all those chocolates.