Many people hate Valentine’s Day, but I think there is no reason to. I have heard all the arguments, yet nothing really proves it is a bad holiday.

Valentine’s Day is about showing love, and that does not only mean in a romantic relationship. It means in all of your relationships. One of my favorite things about the holiday is Galentine’s, getting together with my friends with a theme, it’s just cute. Galentines is a severely underrated thing to do; every group that does it is always cute. Even without celebrating with friends, you can still enjoy the holiday. For example, every year on Valentine’s Day, my parents and I give each other a gift or a card. 

The biggest point people make is that it is exclusionary to single people. Single people say it makes them feel bad about not having a Valentine, but honestly, they are just doing that to themselves. There are so many other relationships in someone’s life that can be celebrated, rather than just a romantic one. So if it makes someone feel sad, they really just need to get over it.

I’ve also heard that it can be cliche and performed rather than being authentic, or even that it is commercialized for everyone to buy the same things. But that is the entire point! It’s less of a force and more of an excuse to celebrate love for fun. Who doesn’t want flowers and a nice dinner? It may be seen as somewhat of a requirement, but that does not make it any less authentic. And personally, I will always take some chocolate (sorry to those that don’t like it–you are really missing out).

Ignoring reasons why people don’t like Valentine’s Day, there are so many reasons to like it. It’s so much fun to celebrate people you love for a reason. It can be a very simple way to make dedicated plans to strengthen a relationship. It’s also so easy to find cute things to get for people. So many stores have Valentine’s Day themed sections to shop in, which makes it way easier. The Valentine’s theme itself is also adorable and hard not to like. 

As Valentine’s Day approaches every year, it has a very cute energy around it. The celebration gives people something to be happy about; it makes this time of year more enjoyable. There is no reason this holiday should make anyone sad. So next year, if you are thinking about opting out of Valentine’s celebration, think of this and reconsider.