1) What is the true meaning of St. Valentine's day? How has it changed?
2) Was this holiday created by the big corporations to sell flowers and cards in the off season?
3) How does the holiday affect schools and students? Should it be allowed? Banned?
4) How is this a world Issue?
4) How is this a world Issue?
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ReplyDeleteMark this one please!
ReplyDeleteIt is believed that Saint Valentine’s Day is celebrated mid-February to honour the anniversary of Valentine’s death, which is said to have taken place around 270 A.D. Others believe that is an alternative to the pagan celebration of Lupercalia. (http://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/history-of-valentines-day). Fast forward to 2016 and it is one of the most commercialized holidays. The day brings in approximately 19 billion dollars annually in the USA alone. The day is profitable due to its appeal for all ages and lack of holidays in the month (There are no Family Day or Presidents’ Day cards).
The only holiday that is more lucrative to businesses is Christmas. It offers corporations such as Hallmark the perfect opportunity to bring in profits. Majority of birthdays and weddings (card giving occasions) happen during the summer.
When I was in elementary school, everyone gave everyone Valentine’s Day cards. I was standard and no one cried. However, in the later grades of elementary school and high school the holiday became an excuse to exchange chocolate and find funny cards for your friends. I do not see the harm in Valentine’s Day except for the fact that it encourages us as consumers to buy holiday themed treats.
Sadly, the commercialization is becoming an issue for our society. We cannot call it a world issue, as many countries do not recognize the holiday (http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/31382332 /valentines-day-countries-that-dont-love-february-romance). However, here in North America, the commercialization of Valentine’s Day and many holidays is becoming a risk. The fact that companies have been able to capitalize as much as they have off Valentine’s Day forces us as consumers and citizens to take a step back and look at the importance of our spending.
I strongly agree with Emma's statement. The experiences that I have had with Valentines Day have never been negative. I do agree that the holiday is extremely commercialized for big businesses to profit off of, but it also allows smaller local businesses to profit from. At the Barrie Farmers Market downtown you can see people selling crafts, foods, goods, etc. and profiting off the fact that it is shaped like a heart. It is extremely easy to make a profit on Valentines Day, but I do not think it is something we should think of as negative! Our community is benefiting from Valentines Day. The whole idea of the holiday is to show the ones you love that you care about them, and that can be done by buying them things or by giving them a hug. Valentines Day can mean a lot to some people, but we have to remember that it is about love and that we are cared for. I think that is a great reason for a holiday.
DeleteI agree with Emma and Sam. Valentine's day should not be a 'negative' holiday and society shouldn't look at it in such a critical light. Personally, I have never heard of anybody being personally distressed as to the fact that they don't have a partner to share the holiday with - yes, people will make jokes about being 'forever alone' but it's not an issue that affects peoples' day-to-day lives or mental health in the slightest (at least from what I've seen, that is). The holiday brings in a lot of money into businesses, and just like Christmas, it helps bring people closer and to give people an opportunity to show their friends and families how much they are cared for.
DeleteI agree with Emma's statements that Valentine's Day as a child in elementary school was almost always positive. Due to the rule our society has created that we must fully participate or not at all it creates a sharing and happy atmosphere for all. I also agree that Valentine's day is also a Holiday that is very materialized causing February 14th to possibly lead people to be greedy or find the Holiday overrated.
DeleteGood post as we do need to re-evaluate our spending habits.
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ReplyDeleteI'm not sure there is exactly one true meaning for Valentine's Day. I have heard many stories about Valentine. The first being a priest that was ordered to death after performing illegal wedding ceremonies. Some stories suggest Valentine was killed from helping Romans escape prison. Another says he was an educated priest in prison and helped teach a guards daughter, and before his death he wrote her a letter signed 'from your Valentine'. Other stories suggest the day routes from a pagan or Lupercalia festival. I don't believe the holiday was created by card companies, but they are definitely taking advantage and defining what the holiday is today. I personally love this holiday, and believe it should be allowed in schools. I loved giving and receiving cards in elementary school from my classmates, and then from my closer friends in high school. I don't think the cards need to be fancy or expensive, it is the thought that counts. I don't think we should ban a day that is all about love. If an individual student has a problem, they can choose to not participate, but for the most part I believe it is simple fun. I think parents are way too worried about their kids. Worrying about your kid feeling left out is odd, because if they are being left out, it's going to happen every day and not just Valentine's day. I think Valentine's day is a great opportunity to teach young kids about sharing and love. I'm not sure it's necessarily a world issue since many Asian countries do not celebrate Valentine's day (http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/31382332/valentines-day-countries-that-dont-love-february-romance), but it does affect many European and North American countries. I believe it is more of an excuse for people to complain than an actual issue. No one is forcing you to participate.
source for origins of Valentine's Day: http://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/history-of-valentines-day
I think Annabelle brings up a valid point about it being a choice to participate and that the children feeling "left out" is not that big of a problem
DeleteI think that parents/media are making an issue out of nothing. I don't think that kids are concerned with alienating their peers on this holiday. Each kid wants as many valentine treats as the next; leaving out certain students would just be a poor strategy. In all seriousness, I don't think that children use this holiday as opportunity for hurting others. In my experience, kids celebrate Valentines day for the holiday's intended purpose.
DeleteBeing left out can be a huge problem to some kids. But hey I got over it.
DeleteMark this one:
ReplyDeleteThere are many different theories about the true meaning of St. Valentine’s Day. A few theories about where the day came from is a Lupercalia festival, others suggest that Valentine was killed for trying to help Romans escape prison. There are numerous theories however those are just a few.
I do not believe that Valentine’s Day was created by big corporations however, due to Valentine’s being one of the largest card-sending holidays, I believe they have be part of the reason Valentine’s Day has evolved as a whole.I believe that Valentine’s Day is a good holiday to celebrate; however I believe school should teach it differently. The article states that kids in elementary school will be upset if they do not get as many cards as one another leading them to feel left out and lonely. Personally, I believe that they don’t understand Valentine’s Day, so why should they celebrate it? It isn’t about who got the most cards in the class, it is about telling someone you love them. Children know who their friends are therefore they should not feel left out if someone they aren’t friends with doesn’t give them a card. A blogger’s opinion in the article states that they “don't think adults are in the position to tell them (children) they have to love everybody.” I completely agree with this, it is okay to not like everyone in the class because you’re not always going to like everyone you meet. Therefore you should not be forced to show everyone in the class love by buying gifts. This doesn’t mean you can be rude however, it is okay to dislike someone and keep your distance. I believe that children at a young age should realise that Valentine’s Day shouldn’t make or break you as a person. Society turning Valentine’s Day into a world issue should be the first clue that we are not taught at a young enough age to love ourselves. Being with someone shouldn’t be sole the reason you wake up in the morning because they may not always be there for you leading them to run your life.
I do not believe this is a world issue whoever, some believe this is a world issue because many countries around the world such as France, England, South Korea, Brazil all celebrate Valentine’s Day. Everyone may have their own unique twist to the day however the meaning of the day is to show someone or people who are important to you that you love them. Society today is very sensitive and has turned Valentine’s Day into a holiday where people who don’t have a boyfriend or girlfriend, feel centered out and lonely perhaps leading to more mental health illness around the world and turning an innocent holiday into a world issue.
http://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/history-of-valentines-day
http://travelblog.viator.com/valentines-day-traditions-all-around-the-world/
I 100% agree that this suggests that we are not taught to love ourselves at a young age. I also agree that Valentine's Day leads to many people feeling lonely and left out, leading to mental health illnesses. I don't think this is very fair. I personally think that there should be a day about friendship before a day for love was invented. Although Valentine's can be taken to be with the friends that you love, it has turned into a lovey dovey gooey day for romance. And you really shouldn't need to have one day for love; if you love someone you should prove it to them everyday of the year. Personally, I don't see all of the hype over Valentine's Day, it's an overrated holiday that should be proven everyday of the year, not just the one.
DeleteI agree with the Brii's comment above about the fact that not all elementary students need to participate. I find it absurd how valentines day has evolved into a commercialized holiday that can put pressure on people to prove their love for one another through gifts. I do not have a problem with the idea of valentines but to force it on kids who don't even care about the holiday past the candy and gifts doesn't make sense to me. Also if the kids decide they do care about it i do not think they should be forced to give a card to everyone in the class. I think that it would be fake to force your kid to pretend they get along and like everyone. It is good to be nice to everyone, but their are situations in which i do not find it necessary to give out cards to everyone in the class.
DeleteI disagree with Bronwyns opinion. Valentine's Day celebrations can be heartbreaking for some kids if they are not treated as equals. The rest of the kids could be chattering and giggling, comparing all of the cards they had received, while another child is feeling alone and left out. I believe at such a young age children need to be exposed to fairness. Valentines Day cards can be used as a way to help teach children tolerance and an appreciation of differences among their classmates. Something as small as one child not feeling appreciated or feeling included can determine the outcome of their years to come. None wants their child to continue feeling as if they are on outcast. As you grow older and start to discover who you are and who your own friends/significant others are then you have the ability to pick and choose who you wish to exchange gifts or other acts of appreciation.
DeleteI also disagree with Bronwyn’s comment because the children have the option to either fully participate by giving every student a valentine or not participate at all. I personally have always loved Valentines Day especially as a child because we got to give cards and chocolates to other students. Even if a child has to give a card to someone they do not get along with it teaches them lessons to be kind and mature in different situations.
DeleteGood post
DeleteMARK THIS ONE: Valentine’s Day is celebrated around the world by individuals by showing appreciation for the people they love. It is also a day to appreciate friends in your social circles and cultures. The purpose and focus of Valentine’s Day is to show people that you truly care about them. In today’s culture, people often do not show their appreciation on a daily basis, due to how busy their lives our. This day, on February 14th, reminds people to take the time and show the people you love that you care.
ReplyDeleteThere is no exact origin story for Valentine’s Day, but most legends surround a Christian priest, named Valentine. He was said to have helped Christians escape Roman prisons, where they were tortured. When Valentine became imprisoned, he sent a letter to his jailor’s young daughter – who visited him in prison. Before he died, it is alleged that the letter he wrote was signed with: “From your Valentine.”
Today, Valentine’s Day has changed completely. Firstly, the fact that I had to research the origin story of Valentine’s Day shows that the youth aren’t aware of the legend. Children aren’t at all focused on appreciate others on the day; they are concerned about how many Valentine’s Cards they received. Valentine’s Day has become completely materialistic; people buy each other flowers, chocolate, stuffed animals, and more. Valentine’s Day has turned into a day where quality is more important than quality.
While researching, I discovered that the idea of sending flowers, chocolates, and other material gifts came from UK companies. I believe that Valentine’s Day was created by a legend but became more popular by companies’ and the Medias’ perception of it.
This holiday affects students in school by making more materialistic children. I can remember being so happy when I received numerous cards and little chocolates from peers at school. The rule that I think adds to this issue is that students must bring a card for every student. I honestly did not truly appreciate all the students, so giving cards to everyone took away the true meaning of caring.
I still believe that giving Valentine’s cards in schools should be allowed, I just think that the students should have more liberty with it. They should have time to create cards and write or draw on them how they feel, instead of just writing their names on a pre-printed card. This will allow children to better understand the meaning of appreciating others.
Valentine’s Day is a world issue because it affects the economy, the environment, and society. It affects the economy because of the millions of dollars people are spending to buy their loved ones products. The average American spends over $130 per person on Valentine’s Day. This creates major income for businesses, and would affect the economy greatly if it was eliminated. It affects the environment because of all the material products bought, creating waste that clearly has a negative impact on our world. And it affects society because of peoples’ expectations. When Valentine’s Day comes, people expect to receive things; when they don’t they get disappointed. It really affects society because peoples expect material instead of a more valuable expression of love.
Citations:
http://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/history-of-valentines-day
I forgot to add my other sources that I used for this post:
Deletehttp://useconomy.about.com/od/grossdomesticproduct/p/Valentines_Day_Economic_Facts.htm
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/eng/dai/smr08/2016/smr08_207_2016
I agree with Brittany's point completely when she says that Valentines Day has changed, because I too, had to reseacrh the origin of this legend. We as a society are not aware of the true meaning. Now it is all materialistic, it becomes a competition for some children see how many cards and treats they can get. Older, teens and adults become upset when they don't receive flowers, chocolates, and jewelry etc. This day has become about quantity and not quality.
DeleteWe need to re-evaluate how we spend our money. $130? Wow
DeleteI agree that Valentines day is incredibly commercialized. Various companies have taken advantage of this specific holiday and manipulated the public into believing that Valentines Day is about receiving gifts, resulting in the feeling of disappointment when there is no gift to receive on Valentines Day. I also agree that the true meaning of Valentine's Day is often forgotten. I disagree that Valentines Day is creating more materialistic children. Although yes, it is tradition to buy cards for the class, the kids do not care if the box of cards they are handing out costs 20$ or 2$. If they were truly being materialistic, they would care about this detail. Instead, I believe that they are simply caught up in the moment of being able to celebrate with their classmates.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Valentines Day is a very commercialized holiday, but it is also something that local businesses can benefit from. It helps our economy when these local businesses succeed. I think we need to think about Valentines Day from the perspective of a local business, that it is a money making opportunity. This holiday helps several local businesses such as flower shops, jewelers, restaurants, and more. Though it is commercial I believe that people still have the right to spend valentines the way they like it and do not have to participate in the rush of last minute Valentines shopping. Though it is a commercial holiday it is all about one thing, love. Which is something that should definitely be celebrated in more ways than one.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMark this one please: Valentine’s Day is celebrated and admired around the world by showing their love and appreciation for those around them. The purpose of Valentine’s Day is to demonstrate to individuals that you care about them. In today’s day in age, daily displays of appreciation are not as common as some would like them to be. February 14th is a day dedicated to emphasize your love and appreciation towards someone you love.
ReplyDeleteAlthough we are not sure the true cause of Valentine’s Day, there are many different urban myths, but most focus on a Christian priest, named Valentine. Valentine was said to have aided in the escape of Roman prisons. Valentine became imprisoned due to his actions. While imprisoned, jailor’s daughter, visited him. he supposedly wrote her letters, and before he died, he apparently signed the letter, “From your Valentine.”
Valentine's Day now, has become a day completely materialized. In order to show your love and affection towards another you must buy them flowers, and chocolates, and other gifts.
To children, Valentine's Day is a day where they are eager to get to school so they can exchange cards and candies. There are some rules though, each child must receive a card, or none at all. I like this idea because it teaches children at a young age to show their appreciation to others. Even though you may not be best friends with everyone, everyone deserves an act of appreciation. Childhood is a critical component in growing up and discovering who you are. No child should feel left out.
Valentine’s Day has become a world issue because it affects the environment, economy, and our society. Our environment is affected by all of the waste that is produced, this only contributes to our ongrowing problem with trying to create a greener earth. It is said that at least 24000000 cards were sent last year in the US alone, this doesn’t include waste produced by wrappings such as candies, and other presents. The economy is affected because of the mass amounts of money being spent on this particular day. According to a recent survey by digital offers site RetailMeNot.ca, the average Canadian plans to spend $164 on Valentine’s Day this year. Traditional romantic gifts are still tops: on average, consumers will spend $190 on jewellery, $76 on tickets to an event or show, $61 on lingerie, $40 on flowers and $18 on candy or chocolate. This creates a huge profit for all business associated with selling valentine's day merchandise. If this day was to be eliminated, it would affect the economy in a huge way. For society, Valentines Day affects people's expectations, because everyone wishes to receive something from someone they care about, and if their expectations are let down, people become discouraged.
http://www.marketingmag.ca/consumer/what-canadians-will-spend-on-valentines-day-survey-167733
http://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/history-of-valentines-day
We need to re-evaluate how we spend our money. Also, what message does it send to a child to force them to give a card to a kid they don't like - maybe even a bully?
DeleteMark this one…
ReplyDeleteValentines Day is February 14 of every year. There are many different stories behind how Valentine’s Day had started. One of the most realistic stories is that a man named Valentine was in prison and fell in love with his jailer’s daughter, before his death he wrote love letters and signed them “From Your Valentine”. Since then, the holiday has become one filled with romance and gift giving. It has become a national love day, with cards, candy, gifts, and in more serious relationships, the perfect day for proposing. This holiday affects more elementary schools than high schools. In the article from the CBC, the journalist writes about every child having to give a Valentines Day card to everyone, or no one at all. This holiday has turned into children learning to be inclusive to everyone and no one left out. Since elementary students are young and still learning, it is expected that parents want everyone to be involved and treated fairly, and in younger classes I agree that kids bring a card for everyone or not at all. I also believe that they should make cards in class, as a project, or a learning experience. As children grow up and start hitting the grades of 6, 7, and 8, they start to understand not everyone likes everyone the same and it is hard to give everyone a card or candy. I still believe it should be allowed, it is a day to show your love to people, it isn’t about leaving anyone out, it is about display their love in their relationships. In high school, teenagers have matured more and understand not everyone loves everyone the same way and giving a card or candy to everyone in their class is a waste of time and money. In high school, couples and sometimes friends celebrate Valentine’s Day. At Central, everyone gets their name written on a heart and taped to the wall, for either a friend or boy/girlfriend to take or themselves to take and put in their locker. Many high schools in Barrie do this now, and that seems to be the only tradition. This isn’t a very serious or important world issue in my opinion. The only issue is social. People have turned this holiday into commercial, huge companies selling cards, candy, flowers, jewelry, anything to show their love for a loved one. People have also found the bad in this holiday; some see it as leaving others out and not giving them a card or candy. I do not think this holiday should be an inclusive holiday, as people want to make it; it is a day to show that one person how much you love them and value them in their life.
http://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/history-of-valentines-day
http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/canada/valentine-day
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/valentines-day-children-1.3440058
And if your name remains on the heart wall what does that say to people?
DeleteMark this one: According to Daily Love written by Matsin Kipp, Valentine’s Day is a day to express and demonstrate all feelings of love, care and admiration towards someone. People who choose to show their appreciation for their valentine, family, friends, coworkers, or even love for yourself, celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 14th all around the world. There are many myths and theories as to why we celebrate Valentine’s Day such as a Lupercalia festival or Greek mythology of the God Eros. Over the years Valentine’s Day has always been known as a day to express affection, love, or care for another but today, schools have focused their view on Valentine’s Day to be an all inclusive event where everyone shares cards or treats. This can lead to mixed thoughts or feelings of love for young children. I do not believe that the Holiday was originally created to enable big corporations to sell their merchandise. Today this includes such items as chocolate, flowers and cards. Corporate interests now play a big role in the promotion of the day to sell their products. The extensive corporate marketing has now caused some people to question the meaning of the Holiday. Some people find the Holiday to be cheesy or unnecessary because they believe it is just a day to buy gifts to express feelings through merchandise, while love and care should be celebrated everyday.
ReplyDeleteAs said in the article Valentine’s Day at school can lead to children feeling left out or sad if they do not receive any or less valentines compared to other students. I believe the school creating a rule that parents and their children should decide not to participate in giving valentines or make sure that everyone in their students class receives one. This creates a fair and caring atmosphere for the children to enjoy as well as teach them to share. Kindness is an extremely important lesson that children need to learn to help them throughout their lives and the act of giving valentines will teach them this lesson. I believe this is a world issue because it impacts people all around the world for different reasons which affects our society, it also has a large impact on our environment and economy due to the corporations and merchandise involved in the Holiday.
http://thedailylove.com/the-true-meaning-of-valentines-day/
Although it is a nice idea of teaching the children kindness, does this truly prepare students for the real world- which is what school is intended to do? In reality, not everyone loves everyone and teaching children to live with kindness will not change the reality of the world. Even our class, who were all taught to bring valentines for all the students, have realized how harsh the real world is and I believe a great portion of us don't know how to handle rejection. Do you believe that there may be an alternate way that school's can teach students how to live with rejection and live with kindness?
DeleteWhat does it tell the child when they don't want to give a card to someone - maybe the class bully?
DeleteIn reply to everything, this topic is actually really hard to make a decision about allowing the holiday to continue in schools. Like others have said, in my elementary school years we all gave cards and candy to everyone without a second thought so I'm pretty sure none of us had any negative experiences with the holiday in those years. Valentine’s Day is a day to tell and show your loved ones how much you care about them (which should be every day of the year) but in today’s society it is waaaaay too commercialized. People have become too greedy or make such a big deal to go out with their significant other and I don’t know I just think it’s annoying because children are developing ideas to give cards and candies to only their favourite people. My favourite comment would be Bri’s because I too agree children don’t really have a purpose to celebrate it. Some people commented saying that the kids shouldn’t be forced to play nice and give a card to the kids they don’t like so everyone is included but the article was talking about the kids who are “weird” and so the other kids don’t give out cards or candy to them. That’s not fair and that’s the reason why I think if schools are going to continue celebrating the holiday they should teach them it’s more about being kind to everyone and being inclusive so that everyone feels loved on the "lovey" holiday.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMark this one.
ReplyDeleteThere is no one definite source of where Valentine's Day originated from as it was a holiday celebrated by many cultures across the world for different reasons. Some believe the holiday was originally created to honor St. Valentine, a priest who performed marriages for young lovers although it was outlawed. Others believe that it's form changed from a pagan holiday where young bachelors would draw bachelorettes names from an urn. The two would be forced to live together for a year and many of these courtships would end in marriage. Now it is a celebration of love between couples. It's an opportunity to show how much you care for your significant other. Although it's probably true that corporations made this holiday much more popular in order to sell merchandise between Easter and Christmas, I think that it is a really nice holiday to create. Love is the most important thing in our lives and with how hectic life is, it's sometimes easy to forget how to show how much you appreciate each other.
I think that although the schools are trying to prevent the students from heartache, in the end they are going to create a much harsher reality for the children. When you teach children that everyone loves everyone equally, you are allowing them to be ill prepared for the real world. The truth is, that not everyone is going to love you. But that doesn't mean that no one is. This is the same problem with how nowadays children believe that everyone wins. The real world simply isn't like that and this type of system does not teach children to understand rejection. They instantly cry instead of handling it with maturity. Many have no idea how to handle rejection. There is nothing wrong with not everyone loving you. Children need to be prepared for this harsh reality, or else they will be completely unprepared for real life situations.
This is a world issue because these children are the future generation of one of the most advanced countries on the planet. They need to be prepared for the future of leading this country as opposed to being ill prepared. However, in the case of Valentine's Day, this is not a huge world issue as many countries do not celebrate it as us Canadians do.
http://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/history-of-valentines-day
Great analogy with sports and everyone wins. Brutal.
DeleteMark this one.
ReplyDeleteThere is no one definite source of where Valentine's Day originated from as it was a holiday celebrated by many cultures across the world for different reasons. Some believe the holiday was originally created to honor St. Valentine, a priest who performed marriages for young lovers although it was outlawed. Others believe that it's form changed from a pagan holiday where young bachelors would draw bachelorettes names from an urn. The two would be forced to live together for a year and many of these courtships would end in marriage. Now it is a celebration of love between couples. It's an opportunity to show how much you care for your significant other. Although it's probably true that corporations made this holiday much more popular in order to sell merchandise between Easter and Christmas, I think that it is a really nice holiday to create. Love is the most important thing in our lives and with how hectic life is, it's sometimes easy to forget how to show how much you appreciate each other.
I think that although the schools are trying to prevent the students from heartache, in the end they are going to create a much harsher reality for the children. When you teach children that everyone loves everyone equally, you are allowing them to be ill prepared for the real world. The truth is, that not everyone is going to love you. But that doesn't mean that no one is. This is the same problem with how nowadays children believe that everyone wins. The real world simply isn't like that and this type of system does not teach children to understand rejection. They instantly cry instead of handling it with maturity. Many have no idea how to handle rejection. There is nothing wrong with not everyone loving you. Children need to be prepared for this harsh reality, or else they will be completely unprepared for real life situations.
This is a world issue because these children are the future generation of one of the most advanced countries on the planet. They need to be prepared for the future of leading this country as opposed to being ill prepared. However, in the case of Valentine's Day, this is not a huge world issue as many countries do not celebrate it as us Canadians do.
http://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/history-of-valentines-day
Mark this one please
ReplyDeleteThe origins of Valentine’s day can be dated all the way back to the Roman times to a festival held in mid-February called “Lupercalia”. In the 5th century, the Roman Catholic church took over the holiday as a religious holiday to celebrate Saint Valentine, however there were multiple Saint Valentines, and no one truly knows which one it is for. It wasn’t until the 1300’s that the holiday was associated with love and romance, and it wasn’t until the 1500’s that the first Valentine’s day card was written. http://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/history-of-valentines-day
The true meaning of Valentine’s day is love, however, now it is more of a commercial holiday. Some couples may be stronger after the annual event, but the true winners are the corporations who sell Valentine’s day cards and products. Altogether, Americans spend more than $20,000,000,000 (20 billion) each year. So although Valentine’s day wasn’t created by corporations, they are the only ones to really profit. In my opinion, partners and friendships shouldn’t become stronger by the amount of commercial items they spend on each other. That’s what corporations want us to believe with all their advertisements.
In elementary schools, there are parties on the holiday and card/candy handouts. It’s stupid to think it should be banned from schools because not every child gets a card from everyone else, however it’s even more stupid to think every child should give every other child a card. There are different friend groups, and kids know which ones they’re a part of. They shouldn’t have to be forced to write lies on pieces of paper to make other kids feel good. The result is that kids will feel like they cave connections with someone else whom they didn’t think cared about them, and the truth is they don’t. It will only lead that kid to be let down in the future when he realises the truth. In reality, I would be more disappointed in getting a fake card from someone than not getting a card from them at all. If everyone is treated as equals, then no one is individual.
This can be considered a world issue because it forces us to believe relationships are based on commercial items, when it should be affection and kindness that strengthens them. However it is good for the economy, with all this spending, corporations are able to sell many goods that they may not have been able to sell before. The only problem with this holiday is that people are more content with whoever spends the most money on them. For example, if two friends buy teddy bears for a third friend, and the first one spent $20 on the teddy bear, but the other friend spent $40, the friend receiving the gifts will be happier with the $40 teddy bear. But what if the friend who spent $40 actually had $100, and the friend that spent $20 only had $20? That is the world issue. Whoever has the most gets more, where others who don’t have much to begin with, can give everything they have, and get nothing in return.
We need to reevaluate how we spend our money.
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ReplyDeleteSt. Valentine’s Day, according to CBN news, is a day in which we honor the courage and memory of the Christian saint Valentine. There is also a theory that the roots of St. Valentine's Day lie in the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, which was celebrated on Feb. 15. For 800 years the Romans had dedicated this day to the god Lupercus. Now, for most people, both of these meanings do not come to mind when thinking of Valentine’s Day. This day is celebrated in many countries around the world even though it is not a public holiday for most of them. Today, the holiday has become a thriving commercial success. According to the Greeting Card Association, 25% of all cards sent each year are valentines. I believe that this day is very popular because unlike most holidays, it appeals to all ages.
While the custom of sending cards, flowers, chocolates and other gifts originated in the UK, and spread around the world, Valentine's Day still remains connected with various regional customs in England. I do believe that big corporations make a lot of money off of this holiday but I do not think that they completely created it. Over many years these companies are able to advertise and make this holiday a larger deal, so in a sense they have created parts of it.
In this article, it is explained that children feel negatively about this holiday because they are left out. Personally I believe that this holiday should not be thought of in a negative view. Throughout elementary school, I always remember Valentine’s Day as just another excuse to have fun in class and eat candy. Everyone in the class would always receive cards, chocolate, etc. and I think the true meaning of Valentine’s Day for these kids is to just be happy and feel love for friends and family. I personally do not think this holiday should be banned but I do believe that kids should give “valentines” to everyone and not just specific people, so that everyone feels included.
Realistically, the problem in the article about valentines is not a world issue. I believe that people sometimes try to make small issues (like kids being left out on Valentine’s Day) into big problems when in reality they are not. In our society this may be a problem because it is small but it would not be considered a world issue.
http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/ValentinesDay/origins.asp
http://www1.cbn.com/st-valentine-real-story
Good post
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ReplyDeleteAs a general comment towards the commercialization of Valentine's Day, I believe that it does not matter how commercialized this holiday is. Valentine's Day is about appreciating loved ones and I believe that people can express their love how ever they want to. Most holidays are very commercialized and I don't think that this factor disrupts these holidays. People can chose to celebrate how ever they wish.
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