Feast of Saint Valentine

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The Feast of Saint Valentine, more popularly known as Valentine’s Day, is a holiday celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Western Christian liturgical feast day honoring one or more early saints named Valentinus. Recognized as a significant cultural and commercial celebration in many regions, Valentine’s Day is a concentrated marketing effort in modern times. In the United States, a couple hundred million Valentine’s Day Cards are sent each year. The average Valentine’s Day spending has increased every year since 2010. Consumer total spending is expected to increase from $18.9 billion in recent years.

Valentine’s Day is a large spending day for U.S. consumers, and about half of all Americans will celebrate the day with their loved ones. The average person spends well over $100 on typical Valentine’s gifts such as candy, flowers, and jewelry. Jackoby Wilson (12th) says, “Valentine’s Day is nice, but it really is a marketing holiday.” On average, men will spend roughly $100 more on their significant others. Kristian Lacot (12th) says, “I would expect guys would spend more, but I didn’t think it would be that much more.”

Teenagers are the most miserable group on Valentine’s Day, according to new data. The vast majority of 21,000 responses (over 98%) were from teenage girls, and they did not have a lot of love for the holiday. Only 13% of teenagers under 15 think Valentine’s Day is “painful,” while 22% say it’s “overrated,” and 24% think it is irrelevant. Teenagers are also the least likely age group to send Valentines; with over 53% saying they are not sending any at all (compared with 41% of respondents over 25).

The Academic Eagles were kind to offer candy to students who excelled in recent quarters. Happy Valentine’s Day everyone, hope you didn’t eat too much chocolate.