By Carly Kwiecien, LaPorte High School Hi-Times
As this weary winter progresses, people anxiously await another holiday for a little time off. Once a holiday associated with firing red passion and romance, today Valentine’s Day is more likely to stimulate a sense of obligation or apathy.
In past eras, holidays revolve around celebration, friends and family. The special days were spent with loved ones who gathered to enjoy one another’s company. But as the years go on, people seem to find themselves focusing more on material things devoid of sentimental value. Stores stock the shelves filled with items meant to be bought for loved ones. Immediately after Christmas, retailers begin to advertise for the next holiday: Valentine’s Day. Flowers and chocolates greet shoppers as soon as they enter the store in hopes of being noticed.
According to statisticbrain.com, $13.19 billion is spent on Valentine’s Day — cliché gifts of candy and flowers, cards, fancy dinners, jewelry and clothing. On average, a consumer will spend about $116.21 on Valentine’s Day alone. That number is slim compared to the whopping average total of $704.18 spent by each shopper at Christmastime on decorations, food, greeting cards and gifts. In 2012,
Author Carly Kwiecien
holiday sales increased 3.5% to $579.5 billion. By comparison, 2011’s $560.2 billion was a 5.1% increase over 2010. Every year is expected to experience an upsurge in sales.
“I probably only spend about $15 on Valentine’s Day, and it’s mostly candy for friends,” said LPHS senior Abby Witherow. “I spend about $120 on Christmas every year, though. I think that the holidays are all based on revenue, and as soon as a holiday is around the corner, sometimes still months ahead, they set up the stores with that holiday as the focus.”
During the Christmas season of 2013, several stores opened around 6 p.m. Thanksgiving evening for savvy Black Friday sales. Many retailers debated whether that was too early or not early enough.
“I believe that many businesses profit from the holiday season, although it may be an unintentional act to diminish the actual holiday,” LPHS business teacher Corey Goers said. “Profit motive is what drives our business world.”
Although shopping with family may be seen as a way to celebrate a particular holiday, it may also be a means of separation. “I think holidays have become less about family because people are so worried about getting good deals that they are not really spending time with family as much,” said LPHS junior Austin Macleod.
Holidays drive all varieties of people, whether they’re anxious to participate or not. Valentine’s Day, in particular, draws all types of consumers. Many people in relationships aren’t inspired to participate in the holiday because of romance, but simply because they feel they must.
“Holidays are more about revenue for companies than spending time with family; that’s why I appreciate when people go out of their way to make the holidays special or show they didn’t just pick something off the shelf,” said LPHS junior Kirsten Simons. “Despite this, I do feel obligated to buy something for my boyfriend and my younger siblings.”
The push to expand Valentine’s Day and other holidays beyond the realm of true meaning is inevitable. But next time you go out shopping during a holiday season, don’t overdo it; keep your loved ones’ best interests at heart.
WNLP IS PROUD to occasionally showcase the works of students in LPHS journalism teacher Angela Saoud’s class.