Every February, Valentine’s Day comes around. It’s 24-hours filled with love — both platonic and romantic — but the cost of the holiday can add up.
In 2009, spending on Valentine’s Day reached $14.7 billion nationwide, according to Statista, a global data analysis company. Since then that figure has increased steadily, with $29.1 billion spent this year, according to the site. This increase rate has been relatively steady, with the exception of Valentine’s Day 2020, when the number spiked during COVID to $27.4 billion. With spending skyrocketing by 97% between 2009 to 2026, some Roaring Fork Valley high school students expressed concern about the consumer-shrouded culture of Valentine’s Day.
“I think that Valentine’s Day is a worldwide celebration that celebrates love — not just romantic love, but also friendship,” Basalt High School (BHS) senior Hector Corrales said. At the same time, he added, “It seems like, in the modern day, it is more like a business.”
According to 6ABC in Philadelphia, the average American was projected to dole out an average of about $200 on Valentine’s Day this year. According to the article, 10% of that spending is on candy and flowers, chocolate is at about 30% and jewelry at about 40% (if you’re of drinking age, wine factors in at about 11%).
Factoring in both sources, the math breaks down to approximately $11.6 billion spent nationwide on jewelry, $2.9 million on candy and flowers, $8.7 billion on chocolate and $3.19 billion on wine!
Valentine’s Day as we know it originated in ancient Roman times, when folks gathered and celebrated fertility rites and were paired up through lotteries, an online blog from The Boutique COO detailed. It goes on that later, also in Rome, Saint Valentine secretly married couples against the emperor’s orders — which cost him his life. Apparently, it wasn’t until the 1800s rolled around when Valentine’s Day had turned towards sentimental, tangible gifts and love notes, and the Industrial Revolution soon fueled its consumerism.
Today, Valentine’s Day comes with many social media posts and couples uploading shared moments with their significant other with flowers and chocolate in frame. An inverse effect can be that others are left feeling envious or maybe even sparks a competition to purchase the most elaborate gifts for loved ones and exhibit it online.
Where does this leave the people who don’t celebrate this holiday?
Not everyone has a job that provides a steady income to be able to spend a lot of money on Valentine’s Day. Some people aren’t in relationships, or might be experiencing a break up. A prime example that comes to mind is teenagers.
“This Valentine’s Day was my first actual time celebrating the holiday,” said Kaila Ethridge, another senior at BHS. “The overconsumption is not something I have ever taken part in,” she added, echoing Corrales’ sentiment.
Sophomore Cristina Solis-Ruiz said that love isn’t only celebrated once a year. “Valentine’s Day I feel like is a very overrated holiday that is talking about love, when you can do that every single day,” she said. When asked how much she spends on Valentine’s Day, she replied, “I don’t spend that much on Valentine’s Day just because I don’t think it’s that necessary.”
Overall, Valentine’s Day can be costly, but it also doesn’t have to be. At BHS, students may not feel the need to spend too much on the holiday, while also appreciating an opportunity to celebrate love in all its forms.
The bottom line this reporter took is that everyone can show that they care about their friends, family and significant others all year — not just Feb. 14.