Why Valentine’s Day Isn’t Overrated

Valentine’s Day.  People either love it or they hate it.  I honestly can’t think of another holiday with such extreme feelings. I recently read an article titled “5 Reasons Why Valentine’s Day is overrated.”  Y’all, I laughed and cried at the same time.  Because first of all, it’s funny how strongly people feel about it. And usually the people who feel the strongest are the ones who hate it.  But also, it’s sad to me that a holiday meant to celebrate love could be so hated.

So, friends, I want to attempt to share my feelings on why Valentine’s Day actually isn’t overrated at all.  And maybe by the time you are done reading I’ll have you convinced to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year.

Alright, so what the heck is the point of Valentine’s Day, anyway?  Well, there are about a million stories associated with the celebration of Valentine’s Day.  At the end of the day, it remains a mystery.  All we know is that Valentine’s Day is a celebration of love.

Now, one of the biggest arguments about celebrating Valentine’s Day is that we should celebrate love every single day.  In fact, that was one of the five reasons listed in the article. “Every day should be Valentine’s Day,” they said. They went on to say, “love is embedded in our everyday lives,” and therefore we should not choose just one day to celebrate.

Well, while I agree we should celebrate love every single day, I think this argument is just plain flawed. If that argument worked, then we could use it for Christmas and Easter, and even our birthdays.  But we don’t.  Even as believers that celebrate Jesus in our everyday lives, we still celebrate Christmas and Easter.  And even those of us who genuinely celebrate our loved ones on a day to day basis still take time to celebrate birthdays.

Valentine’s Day is no different.  There’s nothing wrong with taking a day to celebrate love, and it doesn’t take away from celebrating love every other day.

Another reason listed was that “it feeds into gender stereotypes.”

Y’all, this one made me laugh the most.

The article discussed how Valentine’s Day is a day for men to prove how much they love their women, and a day for women to sit back and relax as “her guys breaks his back to show his love.”

I’m pretty sure that’s not how it is meant to be.  First of all, I have never in my life thought of Valentine’s Day as being on the man. My mom made us feel like a million bucks for Valentine’s Day every single year.  My mom (prior to my parents’ divorce) also did plenty for my dad for Valentine’s Day as well.  And my mom has also done things for my baby for Valentine’s Day. I was never raised to believe that Valentine’s Day was the man’s day to prove himself.  I always believed it was a day to celebrate all the love.

And because of that, you better believe I have gone all out every year for my husband for Valentine’s Day.  It’s not a day for the man to prove himself, and it’s not a day for the woman to prove herself either.  It’s a day to celebrate love.  And it’s not a competition (although we are definitely guilty of trying to outdo one another).

And that brings me to my greatest point.  Valentine’s Day isn’t a day to complain about what we don’t have. It isn’t a day to mock others for being mushy.  It’s a day to celebrate what we do have, and to celebrate what others have.

If you are married or in a relationship, or if you ever have been, then you know relationships are not always easy.  They are freaking hard, honestly. And the truth is, love is a choice.  It’s not always an easy choice, but it is a choice and it always will be. I was just talking to a sweet friend of mine about how we both having experienced moments of not choosing love in our marriages.  And that’s a real thing. (Those who say it’s not… you’re in denial). Love is a choice every single day, and some days it’s the hardest choice we will ever make.

But at the end of the day, if we make that choice, we have won.

And that, my friends, deserves a celebration.

Yes, you can celebrate that any day of the week, and any month of the year.  But there’s nothing wrong with celebrating a little harder on Valentine’s Day. You don’t have to buy traditional heart shaped boxes of chocolate (but I secretly love those), and you certainly don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars.  You can celebrate in simple ways with little to no money. (Stay tuned for my top 5 Valentine’s Day ideas).

And if you choose not to, that’s fine.  But don’t rain on others’ parades when they do choose to celebrate. Just because you think it’s dumb doesn’t mean others have to feel the same way!

Love is a beautiful thing and should be celebrated.  Celebrate your love for your babies.  Celebrate your love for you sister or your brother.  Celebrate your choice to love your spouse well.

And if you don’t really feel like you have any love to celebrate, then celebrate your friends who do.

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