Shey Bloomfield
Staff
Valentine’s Day is coming up, and with it a mixture of emotions. Many look forward to the holiday they can spend with their significant other, but others can’t wait for the season to end. Valentine’s Day is a holiday to celebrate both romantic and platonic love between partners, friends, and family. Whether single, in a relationship, or otherwise, many people have their own way of celebrating the day.
One of the most popular ways to celebrate Valentine’s is exchanging gifts like flowers and chocolates and going to dinner with loved ones. These traditions date back as far as the 18th Century. Other common gifts are cards, chocolate strawberries, and other treats.
Younger kids often hold Valentine’s parties at school where they exchange small gifts and candies with each other. These Valentine’s often have cheesy puns to go with their gift or treat.
The Outline explains that this tradition of exchanging Valentine’s cards started in the 1930s when kids would give them to their friends. By the 40’s, schools were asking kids to have enough valentine’s for their whole class, not just their best friends, so that everyone could feel included. This tradition makes the holiday fun for kids who are unable to participate the way teenagers and adults can.
Even with all these older traditions, new ones are created every year. In 2010, the TV show Parks and Recreation released an episode called, “Galentine’s Day”. In the episode, one character, Leslie Knope, gathered her female friends to express gratitude for their friendship. Since then, Galentine’s has become a popular tradition with single women who want to celebrate their friendship with each other.
Another popular way to spend this holiday is with family. Abbie Anderson, a student at Snow College, said that she spends Valentine’s making lava cakes and chocolate-covered strawberries with her family. Many other students have similar traditions with their own families to make the day memorable.
Whether it’s spending Valentine’s Day with a partner, friends, family, or just treating oneself, the holiday is a chance to celebrate the connections that matter most.
From timeless traditions to new ways of marking the day, there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Happy Valentine’s Day, Badgers!
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