The music swells. The beautiful girl spots the handsome man across a crowded room. Their eyes lock and love is born. Valentine’s Day is the celebration of that love. Valentine’s Day is the celebration of the patron saint, Saint Valentine. According to the History Channel, it is believed that Saint Valentine was a martyred priest from Rome in the third century. Emperor Claudius II made a decree that young men were not allowed to marry in order to make the young men of the city more compliant soldiers. Valentine fought this decree by performing marriage between young lovers. When the emperor discovered the priest’s offenses, he immediately jailed Valentine and sentenced him to death. Another more romanticized part of the story goes that once jailed, he fell in love with the jailer’s daughter and upon his death, he left her a letter signed “From your Valentine,” thereby giving birth to the first Valentine’s day greeting.

Since then, we have degraded the holiday down to greeting cards and candy hearts. Love is only the theme, not the main point. Chances are most people have lived through the dreaded Valentine-less Valentine’s Day. This creates the dread that often surrounds the holiday. Therefore, Valentine’s Day, instead of being about love, has become more about the people who do not have someone. Everyone seems so wrapped up in having that special “one.” What happened to celebrating love?

Love does not just come in one design. The relationships that define anyone’s life are not only those between anyone and that special “one.” Friends, family, mentors; these are all more stable relationships than that elusive “one.” The pressure to find that “one” person in time for Valentine’s Day degrades the meaning of the holiday.

This is what I propose: This Valentine’s Day, do not celebrate just that “one” relationship that makes your heart flutter. Celebrate having your friends. Celebrate having your family. Even celebrate yourself. Embrace love in all forms. And do not just celebrate with your friends due to the lack of the “one.” At the very least, do not hide on Valentine’s Day. By hiding or rejecting the holiday, Valentine’s Day becomes even more precious, thereby furthering the mystique of the holiday and creating greater exclusion. By embracing the love in your life, and making the holiday about all love, and not just romantic love, we can take Valentine’s Day back!

With that said, enjoy this holiday and celebrate yourself and the love you have! As Carrie Bradshaw points out, “The most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself. And, if you find someone to love the you you love, well, that’s just fabulous!”

Chelsea is a junior in the School of Art and a Forum Editor. She can be reached via e-mail at [email protected]

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