Valentine’s day is a time to pay tribute to that special someone in your life.  You buy him/her chocolates, flowers, and valentines day cards or else you will be deemed a bad partner.   Though, it seems a little weird that you need to buy these things for your romantic interest, which makes me think that that’s the point of the whole holiday.  Valentine’s day had been around for awhile.  There are many stories about where Valentine’s day originated.  

Saint Valentine’s feast day is February fourteenth, and It’s been this way since about the end of the fifth century.  The idea that this day should be for romance was because of all the stories about Saint Valentine. (Or about all three Saint Valentines) According to History.com, Saint Valentine would marry young couples, which was outlawed because Emperor Claudius II felt that single men soldiers were better than men with families. (Thus, he outlawed marriage for young Men) When they found out what Saint Valentine was doing, the Emperor put him to death.  He also may have been killed for helping Christians help escape harsh Roman Prisons.  They also say that one of the Saint Valentine’s fell in love with a girl, who may or may not have been the Jailer’s daughter, and sent her a card.

So I know you might be thinking that it can’t be because of marketing because of all the history I just told you about.  Greeting cards can be seen as far back as the Middle Ages, Historical figures like Duke of Orleans and King Henry V, but store bought greeting cards weren’t printed until the 1900’s.  According to bluefountainmedia.com, we spend 18.9 billion dollars on Valentine’s day.  Men will also spend 2.3 as much money for their lover than women do, and 51% of people spend a night out with their date.  The average amount of money spent per Valentine’s Day participant is $142.31.  That all sounds like a lot of money for one date.  Sure, it’s been going on for many years, but maybe it has developed into a huge marketing ploy.  

People seem to take Valentine’s Day pretty seriously,  and they need their special someone to make it perfect for them.  This causes their lovers to go out and buy anything to make it perfect, no matter the price.  This makes businesses produce more stuff for more money, and they end up making a pretty penny in return.