History or Hallmark: The meaning behind Valentine’s Day

With Valentine’s Day being the holiday of the month, there are many couples in love that cherish the day, and several singles that see it as just another day to get through.

There are two perspectives of how Valentine’s Day came to be, is it history or a made up holiday for the Hallmark Company to make a few bucks… I like to believe in the myth of St. Valentine, but Cupid is always a nice little mythical creature too.

According to history.com, the legend of Valentine’s Day originates from the story of its Catholic Saint who was a man that went against the Emperor Claudius II.

In the late Roman Empire Claudius II outlawed marriage and decided that all single men must become soldiers. When Valentine heard about this he decided to marry young lovers in secret.

Once the Empire found out about his actions, he was sentenced to death. There are several other stories that try to determine how the myth of St. Valentine originated, but the secret love seems to be the most romantic. According to Junior Glenn Weist.

“In history ladies started to practice abstinence which forced their men to join together and treat all of their women better than they ever have.”

Some may say that chivalry is dead but around this holiday the boys either seem to step up, or get buried in the rubble.

All that I know is that no one in this day and age will compare to St. Valentine, no matter how many roses are delivered on their girl’s front porch.

Some people on this campus have a positive outlook on Valentine’s Day like senior Caroline Connor explains.

“I personally don’t mind it, I know some people hate it cause they don’t have a significant other and it’s just the stereotypical holiday for couples, but even when I didn’t have a boyfriend I liked it because I hung out with my friends and we made it a fun time.. Anything can be fun if you make it fun!”

I wish that everyone had a positive outlook on the holiday like Caroline, but sometimes it’s easier to be bitter about things.

For anyone that has trouble watching all of the happy couples, just remember they may not be as happy as they appear on Instagram or Facebook.

The happiest are those that do not need 100 likes on a photo to justify their feelings for each other.

For people like Haley Coleman, Valentine’s Day has been more about spending the holiday with family rather than a significant other.

“My parents have always gotten us cool presents, make a big dinner and make sure to let us know how much they love us. It also represents when my brother Zach got his letter being accepted to the Naval Academy so it’s extra special to my family,” Coleman explains.

It’s always great to see peers that appreciate the holiday for being with people that love them rather than making sure they get materialistic things from their significant other.

St. Valentine performed the secret marriages to unite two people for the rest of their lives because of strong love and wanting to be together. He did not get killed for girls to complain to their boyfriends about needing chocolate and stuffed animals that fuel Hallmark’s bank account.