File
Candy goes on sale Feb. 15.
Victoria Lee Zamora
sac-ranger@alamo.edu
February has long been celebrated as a month of romance, chocolate-covered strawberries and an endless amount of public displays of affection.
Feb. 14 honors the St. Valentine martyred in the third century. He was arrested and imprisoned upon being caught marrying Christian couples. Christians at the time were being persecuted by Claudius in Rome.
The Ranger asked students what Valentine’s Day means to them.
“I plan on surprising my two precious sons with a special Valentine’s Day breakfast,” education freshman Ann Plumb said Feb. 14. “They are my true valentines.”
To Plumb, Valentine’s Day is about making her children feel special.
She said she and her husband appreciate each other 365 days out of the year.
“We don’t need this holiday to prove our love for each other,” she said.
Whether you loathe it or love it, Valentine’s Day brings awareness of relationships.
“This day is meant to show your true affection on how much you love and trust your best friend,” said accounting freshman Forrest Garcia in an interview Feb. 9.
Garcia plans to go about his everyday routine and he does not plan to give a Valentine to anyone. That doesn’t change the way he views this special day.
“People make this day such a big deal because they want to make their loved ones feel special,” Garcia said.
Valentine’s Day has developed a reputation for consumers to spend big money on fancy candy and lavish gifts, but it’s not always the cash that counts.
“Maybe your significant other is going through a hard time or they’re feeling stressed from work or school. Whatever the case may be, this day is to remind them that you care about them,” Garcia said.
U.S. consumers are expected to spend an average $143.56 on Valentine’s Day as 55 percent of the population celebrates this year, an increase from last year’s $136.57, according to the National Retail Federation annual survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics.
“V-day is ‘me-day’ in my opinion. The only person I’m showering in gifts and attention is myself,” said cyber security freshman Elizabeth De Luna in an interview Feb. 13.
De Luna, described Valentine’s Day as an excuse to spend money and make the lines long at restaurants.
“Personally, the one thing I look forward to about this silly holiday is the very next day all the candy goes on sale,” De Luna said.
