Love Cards and Consumerism: The Valentine's Day Debate

A dazzling bouquet of roses, carefully crafted declarations of love, extravagant chocolate assortments and perhaps even a long-awaited proposal is what usually comes to mind when February 14th comes rushing around the corner. However, many aren’t thinking about the $27.9 billion that is estimated to be spent across America alone, in 2021. So how exactly did this romantic holiday suddenly turn into a commercial boom? The National Retail Federation President and CEO Matthew Shay mentioned in a written statement last year that “Valentine’s Day is a sentimental tradition, but gift-giving can be driven by the economy,” This opens up many questions about what is supposed to be a holiday of admiration, friendship and romance. Perhaps this event has only been endorsed as a way to profit off of commercialisation, or maybe it defines the modern couples’ priorities lying in material gifts and financial considerations.

The historical origins of the holiday lie in the feast of Lupercalia which was celebrated between the 13th and 15th of February in Ancient Rome. By the end of the 5th century, Pope Gelasius I replaced Lupercalia with St. Valentine's Day. It is now disputed over which St Valentine was being celebrated, but the iconic holiday prevails nonetheless. With a better understanding of where the celebrations originate, we should be able to piece together a timeline to explain how the 21st century sees this annual event where billions of dollars are being spent on merchandise and Valentine’s memorabilia.

The first signs of commercialisation can be seen in Georgian England where the practice of gifting your Valentine greeting cards originated from. People would decorate pieces of paper with illustrations, brightly coloured hearts and of course declarations of love. However, the big commercial boom in fact can be traced back to the United States. In the 1840s, an American newspaper called “The Public Ledger” endorsed the holiday saying that people needed “more soul-play and less head-work”. The meaning of the term “valentine” had then transformed from signifying a person to whom you’d declared your love, now referring to an item of exchange. In the following decades, marketing within many companies hurtled towards luring more and more customers into celebrating the holiday, convincing them to purchase valentines which now appear in the forms of cards, chocolates, flowers, and jewelry for loved ones. Nowadays, even for the more cynical or single individual, there is a market full to the brim of anti-Valentine’s merchandise. Yet everything about Valentine’s day emanates from purchasing. US consumers spent $5.8 billion on jewelry alone in 2020!

For the contemporary couple, a romantic relationship comes inevitably with material and financial considerations.The notion of gifts and spending is reflective of the idea that spending money equates to expressing love. It is not fair to say whether or not that is a benefit or hindrance. However, Charles Lindholm, a retired Boston University professor and expert in both American culture and romantic love, believes that commercialisation and consumerism can negatively affect relationships. Ultimately, how we choose to celebrate Valentine’s Day is up to us. Whilst it might be preferable to spoil your significant other with flowers, chocolates, jewelry and the like, others might prefer a simple handmade card from the heart. One thing that is certain though, is that taking part in this collective celebration does have a positive effect on our feelings of belonging, and thanks to the commercialisation of the holiday, there is a way for everyone to participate. Perhaps February 14th shouldn’t be a day for corporations to fill their pockets. Instead, it should be a day to stress the importance of togetherness and true love.

• Charlotte Rodney 12E