I’m not one to typically “rebel” against Valentine’s Day or any other holiday like that, but I do think that the pressure on everyone, single people and couples alike, to have a certain type of experience on this holiday can be a little ridiculous.
Society sets up single people, women especially, to feel like they have to have some strong emotion on Valentine’s Day, like being upset and depressed that they don’t have a partner, or like they should be angry at the holiday for simply existing. Couples, on the other hand, are sometimes pressured to put out this great big outward show of their love and dedication to each other, which often means that someone needs to buy something (flowers, jewelry, dinner reservations, candy, etc.) expensive. People in my generation are often expected to post a sweet Instagram photo on Facebook that expresses to the world how much they truly love each other. This basically equates the “level” of their love for each other with how much money they have/are willing to spend on each other, how creative they get in their surprises, and how many likes they can get on their post.
Basically, it frustrates me that a holiday that is capable of bringing people love, joy, and happiness is also capable of delivering shame, frustration, stress, and sadness to many, many others. Tell your loved ones how much they mean to you, express it any way you can, but don’t let the value of their love be influenced by the value of the physical items they are able to give to you. Love is about so much more than a dozen roses or a box of chocolates.
So with that, I think that Liz Lemon puts it very nicely: a very happy Anna Howard Shaw Day to us all!