The truth behind Valentine's Day - Evelyn Kimber, BHASVIC

As soon as celebrations of the New Year draw to a close, the shops instantly seize the opportunity to begin their advertisements for Valentine’s Day. This begins with the establishment of a small card stand, but soon escalates into aisles upon aisles becoming dedicated to red roses, pink balloons and boxes of chocolates. With each year that passes, Valentine’s Day becomes more and more of a commericialised holiday; a poor excuse for companies to capitalise on the pressure we feel to prove our love for one another. The materialist ideas that this perpetuates begs the question: is gradually losing touch with the true and authentic roots of our global traditions really worth the profit that Valentine’s Day brings to mass corporations?