Every year Valentine’s Day is on the 14th of February and it’s known as the holiday of love.
Many people give gifts ranging from big to just a small card with some candy.
You don’t have to have a partner for this holiday as many celebrate with family or friends instead.
This holiday has a historical connection to Saint Valentine now it is more connected to consumption and shopping.
Valentine’s day is one of the biggest shopping holidays of the year. With most stores putting out products in late January trying to encourage people to buy products for the people they love most. Some of the top selling products are chocolates, flowers and cute stuffed animals with hearts on them.
The goal for these companies is to market their products as symbols of love.
They do this by putting hearts on things and using pink and red because those are closely tied to the image of valentines day. The companies make the buyers feel like they need to buy gifts to show and prove their love for others.
People tend to overconsume the most around this holiday because they feel pressure for social expectations specifically through social media seeing others do the most.
Another reason is tradition most people have gotten used to receiving and giving each time during this year.
Many people avoid the trends of overconsuming by just hand making gifts and cards for the ones they love. This is just as meaningful and doesn’t add to the overconsumption problem.
Although Valentines day is very connected to consumerism it is also connected to love and feeling appreciated which is important as well.
