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Attention everyone, prepare your eyes to be overwhelmed with Instagram posts of couples “in love” and floral arrangements; it’s Valentine’s Day.
As everyone around you prepares a special gift for their significant other, you might be thinking, what’s the point of Valentine’s Day anyway? Well trust me, you are not alone.
While most consumers use this day to determine whether or not they hit the love lottery, most will be surprised to learn that Valentine’s Day actually comes from a violent third century ritual.
According to an NPR article, in ancient Roman times, this day of love was celebrated over the course of three days in February.
During this time, the Romans celebrated the Lupercalia festival, which was designed to cleanse the city of evil spirits. Men would sacrifice dogs and goats while women would wait in line to be whipped with their hides, hoping this would make them fertile. Seriously.
After this very romantic whipping ceremony, men would then pick a woman’s name out of a jar to determine who their lucky lady would be for the night.
Now we can’t forget how we got the name Valentine, right? This beloved name came from the execution of a priest named Valentine on Feb. 14 during third century A.D. by Emperor Claudius II.
Emperor Claudius II then banned all marriages and engagements in Rome, but Valentine decided that was an injustice and continued to marry the Romans until he was caught, thus leading to his execution on Feb. 14.
His martyrdom was celebrated by the Catholic church and became Valentine’s Day! So if that doesn’t burst your bubble, you’re a true hopeless romantic and I applaud you.
However, for all my realists out there, don’t be alarmed if you don’t swoon on Feb. 14, there’s a lot more of us than you think.
Now, I know most people look at Valentine’s Day an opportunity to celebrate the people they love, and shower them with gifts. This is a great way to treat the people you care about!
However, why is it that we only go above and beyond for our loved ones, one day out of the year? Imagine if we expressed that love every day? What a life that would be.
While searching for reasons as to why some people take Valentine’s so seriously, expert Tinder sociologist Dr. Jess Carbino believes she has the answer.
Her belief is that people’s obsession over having a partner on Valentine’s Day comes from a desire to be needed and cared for.
Regardless of how successful their lovelife is, having a significant other on Valentine’s Day gives them a sense of validation. Now all those Instagram posts make sense, right?
Sadly, it’s so far past posting a photo or a nice shoutout on Facebook, it’s become a full-blown consumer epidemic. According to Statistic Brain Research Institute an average of $13,290,000,000 is spent every year.
Ladies and gentlemen, why are we allowing one day a year to determine whether or not we feel loved and appreciated? Your significant other should make you feel like it’s Valentine’s every day.
If you’re rockin’ the single life, know damn well that ain’t nobody going to fill that void honey. Go out there and do you!
And please, don’t think I’m a jaded single girl hating on all you happy couples. I have experienced Valentine’s day single and in a relationship, and have always felt this way.
So no, I am not rushing to the nearest Anti-Valentine’s Day party, or flocking to the store to buy more chocolate for my boyfriend than we’ll ever need in a lifetime, let alone one sitting.
Save yourselves the money and stress this year people, treat yourself instead.
