Valentine’s Day is beautiful, no doubt, but is it really as meaningful as people make it out to be? Or is it just another well-crafted business experiment, a commercialised excuse for excess spending? The numbers are staggering—over 900 million euros are spent on special meals, flowers, gifts, and holidays, according to a recent survey. It appears that romance, once the most natural and spontaneous of human expressions, has become an industry, carefully packaged and marketed to the masses.
The growing commercialisation of Valentine’s Day is difficult to ignore. Flower shops, jewellery stores, and restaurants make a fortune, as the prices of roses and gifts skyrocket. Restaurants are overcrowded with couples determined to prove their love by spending more than usual on a meal they could have had for half the price the day before. Social media exacerbates the pressure, setting unrealistic expectations and turning the occasion into a performance rather than an intimate moment between two people.
And yet, one cannot dismiss the beauty of the sentiment entirely. Love, in all its forms, is worth celebrating. But why does it need to be confined to one specific day? If love is genuine, it should be demonstrated every day, not reserved for an annual spectacle. The idea that a person must go out of their way on 14th February to show affection suggests that the other 364 days of the year are somehow inadequate.
Moreover, Valentine’s Day is not universally beloved. For some, it is a painful reminder of loneliness. For others, especially the young and impressionable, it becomes an occasion to flaunt relationships, whether genuine or not. It creates unnecessary comparisons, where one person’s simple gesture of love is measured against another’s grand display.
The origins of Valentine’s Day have long been overshadowed by consumerism. In places where it was once unheard of, globalisation has ensured its widespread adoption. What was once an exclusive celebration in the West has now become an expected tradition in many parts of the world, largely due to cultural imitation and marketing influence. But does this borrowed tradition truly resonate with those who adopt it, or is it just another excuse to spend?
None of this is to say that those who celebrate Valentine’s Day are misguided. If a couple finds joy in marking the day with flowers and gifts, so be it. But let’s not pretend that love is measured in extravagant gestures. True affection is found in the everyday moments—the morning texts, the shared jokes, the small acts of kindness that require no audience or occasion.
Ultimately, Valentine’s Day is a paradox. It can be beautiful, but it is undeniably overrated. It is not the ultimate test of love, nor should it be the standard by which relationships are judged. Love is not about a single day—it is about a lifetime of moments, big and small, shared with those who matter most.
