"Love Is In The Air"

Valentine’s Day is the holiday of love. The one day where you can show your utmost adoration for the special people in your life who make everything better. A worldwide holiday filled with hearts, chocolates, flowers, gift giving, and the colors of a warm evening sunset. Some individuals treat it as a big celebration, while others merely sweep it under the rug. But really, how important is Valentine’s Day and how did it even come to be? What makes February 14th the day of love?

Valentine’s Day is rooted in both Catholic and Roman traditions. It is a bit of a mystery; how Valentine’s Day really became the day of love. There are many different accounts and stories; ranging from tales of a dead priest named Valentine, who illegally performed secret weddings, to stories about the Christian effort of replacing the Roman holiday of Lupercalia. However, Valentine’s Day officially came to be associated with love through a poet named Geoffrey Chaucer. Chaucer wrote a poem titled Parliament of Fowls which included the line, “For this was on Saint Valentine’s Day, when every bird comes there to choose his mate.” Following this poem, many nobles in the 1400’s began writing 'valentines' letters to those they loved. Hence, February 14 was inaugurated as what we now know to be Valentine’s Day. 

Valentine's Day is celebrated very differently around the world. While Valentine's Day in western society is strictly celebrated on February 14, in many other countries the day of love is celebrated on multiple days throughout the year. In South Korea, the day of love is celebrated on the 14th of every month. In fact, in June, they call it "the day of kisses," and in May, they call it "the day of roses." Similarly, in Argentina, Valentine's Day is spread out over the course of a week in the month of July. They refer to it as "the week of sweetness." These are just a couple examples of the many different traditions of Valentine's Day around the world. 

So, what does Valentine’s Day mean to people today? I wanted to gather a few perspectives from those around me, so, I asked a few of my friends to tell me what Valentine’s Day means to them. I was curious about whether they see it is a holiday just for couples, or if they felt it could have other meanings. Sophia Bernoussi, a Paris native, stated, “When I was a kid, I used to hate the holiday because I felt like it was a very over-commercialized day, just for couples. However, as I got older, I came to realize that it was a day in which I could celebrate my friends and family too and spread my love for them. As we say in French, ‘J’ai réalisé un quel point, l’amour de mes proches est très important et qu’il faut chérir le moment present' which means: I realize how important it is to cherish the present moment of my relatives and friends.” Similarly, my friend Darian Kish said, “For me, the meaning of Valentine’s Day is to celebrate love. It doesn’t have to be purely romantic love, it’s equally important to celebrate familial and platonic love. There’s characteristics I attribute to it—hearts, flowers, chocolates, pink and red—but Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to look one particular way. It’s enough to just be around the people you love and to love them proudly and openly. I love Valentine’s Day, it’s very cute to see men on the metro holding flowers, mothers shopping for candy for their kids, and friends meeting up for dinners and surprising each other with gifts.” However, for some people, Valentine's Day is just another typical day, maybe one that allows then to enjoy some extra chocolate. As one AUP student put it, "I don't know I guess for everybody else, it's a day to celebrate love. But for me it's just another day. I do think when you're in a relationship it can be a good way to show the other person that you are thinking of them, so I don't really have any ill feelings about it."

Whether you celebrate Valentine’s Day or see it as just another day in February, it is undeniable that it brings a sense of closeness among people in the name of love. It fosters an environment, for 24 hours, where people can be as affectionate as they want and create memories with their loved ones. It’s truly a special holiday that our world needs in order to remember how necessary and important love is, in a world that can be so cruel.