Valentine's Day: a win-win

Great talents such as Madonna and Ashlee Simpson have covered the song “Love Makes the World Go Round.” But they’re wrong. Greed makes the world go round, as many fictional and nonfictional businessmen have been saying for years. This Valentine’s Day, instead of focusing on the hearts and chocolate, maybe we should have tried noticing how much money is actually spent on the holiday. In fact, I think businesses create all the hype surrounding Valentine’s Day. Our excitement leads to their profit. Valentine’s Day gives so many of us a reason to go out and spend money. Chocolate, cards, stuffed animals, flowers and a whole assortment of gifts are purchased. American Greetings Corporation estimates that approximately 190 million valentines were sent in 2008. The only time of year at which more cards are sent is during the Christmas season, which is arguably the largest holiday of them all. This is to say nothing of all of the Valentine’s Day parties that are thrown, too—now food and decorations are needed, as well, all of it equating to more money spent.

Valentine’s Day is really more useful than it is romantic. Holidays are known to stimulate economies. Black Friday and Christmas shopping are a huge help to our economy. The large spike in shopping and sales during holiday seasons saves many retailers. However, people are only prompted to shop because they are in a festive mood. After New Year’s Eve, there was a drought of holidays. From Jan. 1 until March 17 (St. Patrick’s Day), there was a barren wasteland of non-festiveness. Something was needed to fill the void. The streamer and glitter companies needed a way to make sales. So why not celebrate some random saint?

Valentine’s Day is not the only holiday of its kind. All holidays are, in fact, clever manipulations for the promotion of spending money. Take Easter, for example. I’ll give any person a million boxes of chocolate if he or she can explain the relationship between the resurrection of Christ and chocolate eggs and bunnies. But the chocolate companies aren’t complaining, and neither are we. It’s a great excuse to break out diets and eat chocolate and, more importantly, to have fun. We can tell ourselves we are doing it for Jesus all we want, but really we just want those Cadbury Eggs.

This certainly does not mean, though, that I should be accused of being the Valentine’s Day Scrooge. I love Valentine’s Day, and I make an effort to celebrate it each year. I think it’s important to try to force ourselves to try to love a little more even if it’s for unrelated reasons. I come from the West Coast, and quite frankly, I think February out here sucks. It has been cold for too damn long. So, really, I’m happy I got an excuse to eat a ton of chocolate on Sunday and to try to snuggle up to someone for warmth. A lot of great things came of this past Valentine’s Day. For example, the Columbia College Student Council had a reason to set up a study break that involved speed dating. Though the success rate of speed dating generally isn’t too high, maybe two people got to know each other and plan on seeing each other again. And at a place like Columbia, where there seems to be a general anti-love atmosphere, this newly formed couple would be enough of a reason in my book to consider Valentine’s Day a great holiday.

Perhaps this isn’t what St. Valentine had in mind, but I doubt St. Patrick imagined the streets of New York being filled with angry drunks on March 17. Every year on Feb. 14, I might be falling for Hallmark’s tricks but I’m also having fun. So people can complain all they want about Feb. 14—I still love it. And isn’t that what Valentine’s Day is supposed to be about?

The author is a Columbia College first-year.