The Irony of Valentine’s Day

Every year on the 14th of February, the air, and our social media feeds, fill with proclamations of love. Boxes of chocolate and bouquets of flowers are exchanged among lovers of all ages. The world turns red and pink for a day and everywhere you look you see hearts. And I mean everywhere. That sounds amazing, right?

However, when you take a good look at Valentine’s Day and its traditions, you see just how ironic it is.

For starters, a day that celebrates “togetherness” is also the loneliest day of the year because a lot of us are riding solo. 

Somewhere along the lines Anti-Valentine’s Day was conceived and I’d say it’s become just as, if not more popular than Valentine’s Day.

On the flip side, Valentine’s Day puts a ton of pressure on couples to outdo one another. It should be a day of celebration, yet couples stress out over making it perfect. 

This day has become a competition.

Especially on social media sites where couples boast about their Valentine’s Day adventures.

It’s also ironic how ‘heartfelt’ gifts are all mass-produced. Ladies, do you really desire a card he bought from Walgreens? 

Love is priceless, yes, but fancy bouquets of flowers sure as heck aren’t! And yet Valentine’s Day isn’t complete without the purchase of roses.

Or the traditional gifting of chocolate…

It’s frustrating how we feel the need to try and materialize our adoration. Love is unique for everyone, except on Valentine’s Day. We go on cliché dates and give manufactured tokens of love.

I do have to say; on Valentine’s Day people aren’t embarrassed to express their love for one another. Sure, the ways in which it’s conveyed can be lame, but the expression of love is always a beautiful thing. 

So maybe we can put up with all the irony for one day, but one day only.

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! 

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