Laura Mooney
Arts Editor | ote-arts@unbc.ca

hen we were kids, Valentine’s Day meant
W ovine to the nearest supermarket and with the
utmost precision picking out the colorful little pre-
boxed cards that caught our eyes, knowing that the
rest of the class was going to love them. Some came
with stickers, some with candy; the choice we made
would show other exactly how we felt about them,
and so it had to be just right. When we were kids,
the small section dedicated to the holiday featured
cards with our most beloved movie or television
characters, others with a straight to the point love
theme, but they all had that cute little quip wishing
someone a Happy Valentine’s Day. When we were
kids, Valentine’s Day was the day you walked into
your elementary school classroom to see the walls
covered with red hearts and pink streamers, all
paying homage to the love that filled this day. It was
a day to sit down and make special bags that would
store all of your classmates just as carefully selected
Valentine’s that were addressed to you, that would be
carefully placed into your hand crafted holder. That
feeling you would get when you saw your secret crush
approaching your bag and placing in their Valentine
to you, and you knew you would treasure that one
small card above all the others. When we were kids,
we never thought of Valentine’s Day as a day to hate.
It was not a day to be resentful or hostile. It was
simply a day for love that everyone got to participate
in. It was a day for everyone. Then something
changed.

As we got older, the idea that Valentine’s Day was a
day strictly for love remained, but now it was focused
solely on couples. The idea that Valentine’s Day was
for everyone slowly faded into a fabricated ideal. All
of the commercials, the products, the dinners, were
all pushing this idea that Valentine’s Day was only
accessible to those who had found their soul mate, or

BECAVSE LOVE ISN'T QUITE
COMPLICATED ENOVGH AS 1S

at least a person to take to dinner for the night. All
those who remained alone, began to feel as though
they were being punished for it. No longer were we
celebrating with an entire classroom full of people,

it had become something private, and if you were
not part of this elite group “allowed” to celebrate
Valentine’s Day, you were definitely made aware of it.

Every year once February arrives, the public is
bombarded with the message that if you are not

ina relationship by Valentine’s Day, you should

be worried. Dating sites begin to use scare tactics
on their commercials, making comments such as
“Valentine’s Day is just around the corner,” placing
pressure on singles to make sure they are not left in
the dust by the time the big day rolls around, and
it works. Suddenly that panic sets in for all those
who have yet to find the one. What if I am alone on
Valentine’s Day? What if I have to spend the most
romantic day of the year all by myself? The fear of
being alone sets in, casting a shadow over what was
once a celebrated day filled with love.

The stigma around what is supposed to be the most
love filled holiday of the year was created. For all
those people who remained single, the notion that
Valentine’s Day was for couples only was hitting a
nerve, and for good reason. Over the years, wave
after wave of anti-Valentine’s Day propaganda
began to flood the media just as much as the pro. It
began to spring up in films, with even a movie called
Valentine’s Day featuring a woman who throws an
anti-Valentine’s Day party. Soon it became common to
find anti-Valentine’s Day products in novelty stores,
with candies that read “love stinks” and scowling
bears, all marketed to the singles as if to tell them,
“see, we hate Valentine’s Day too!”

The pressures of Valentine’s Day however did not
remain exclusive to singletons, because now even

those in a relationship have been succumbing to

just as much stress, all based around having to make
the most of the holiday for their significant other.
Jewellery commercials, restaurants, and high-end
stores all tell the doting males to spend obscene
amounts of money in order to make their sweetie
smile, and if not then they will have failed as a mate.
These pressures alone have caused couples to throw
in the towel, opting instead to ignore Valentine’s Day
all together.

So here stands this holiday, February 14th, a day

that has left a bad taste in the mouths of those who
once celebrated it. A day that once made us smile as
children, now no more than a dreaded day that many
just wish would vanish from the calendar. Somewhere
along the way in the throes of commercialism, the
meaning of Valentine’s Day that we had known as
children got lost. Now is the time to remember it as it
was.

Let us start thinking of Valentine’s Day as the day that
celebrates love, not one specific type of love, but every
type under the sun. Make this day the one where

you can express your love for whomever you have in
your life, even more so than you have on any other
day of the year. Let us get rid of the stigma that has
been surrounding Valentine’s Day for far too long and
make it once again a day where everyone is included.
Whether you are in a long-term relationship, going on
a first date, going out with a group of friends, or even
staying at home with your dog, Valentine’s Day should
be about celebrating the love you have in your life at
that very moment. By doing so we can take away the
power that commercialism has had over Valentine’s
Day, and instead make it once again about love, not
about buying love with fancy presents. With the
pressure gone we can once again open up the day for
everyone, and celebrate it once again just as we did
once as children.