A day of roses, heart shaped chocolate and giant teddy bears. A day of candle lit dinners, anonymous cards and boozy brunches. A day which is universally hated by a large proportion of both people in and out of relationships. There is nothing which comes under more scowls than the Valentine’s Day aisle at Sainsbury’s (clad with cute cards and sickening soft toys) as friends turn to each other and say “I hate Valentine’s Day”.
The most obvious reason for hating Valentine’s Day is being single. Of course, it is difficult not to feel slightly envious when your friend is being presented with a big bouquet of flowers and the only thing you’re being presented with is a strange giphy via tinder message and an insurmountable workload. Single people are programed to hate Valentines Day. Popular culture tells us that it is all about couples while the single lady lies under a pile of duvet crying herself to sleep with a tub of Ben and Jerry’s. However, being single on Valentine’s Day can feel quite empowering as you realise that, actually, you don’t need someone else to treat you when you can treat yourself.
There are plenty of people in relationships who also have a strong hatred for Valentine’s Day celebrations. Among their reasons is the fact that it’s “just cringe isn’t it”. Cringe is definitely allowed once in a while and having someone make a fuss over you is no crime. The truth is that Valentines Day can actually often be hated more by people in the relationships than all those single people listening to Adele and watching Ten Things I Hate About You. There is a lot of pressure surrounding the day. The pressure of whether you need to get someone something depending on how long you’ve been with them for. The pressure of whether they’ll like whatever you’ve got them. The pressure of whether you’ll like what they’ve got you. There is also potential for disappointment when your significant other has forgotten all about it. I’d much rather have a single Valentine’s Day than a disappointed one.
According to Capify twenty five million cards are given by Brits every Valentine’s. On average, women spend £24 and men spend £40 on their significant other. The financial burden of Valentine’s Day can make it difficult. Really, Valentine’s day is just another way of paying into the multi-million pound industry that is Love. everything from that bottle of wine that you share with your girlfriends to a dinner date to a tub of heartbreak ice cream. It all goes into making Valentine’s Day a construct of consumerism rather than a day celebrating love.