Latin Lovin'

With singles-awareness day approaching, I’ve heard many of my friends and acquaintances express their concerns about spending the day “alone.” While I consider their preoccupation to be valid, I would like to offer a solution to their problem: change the holiday. I read somewhere that if one has an issue with something, there are three possible ways to react: accepting it, changing it, and ignoring it. While ignoring Valentine’s Day wouldn’t be a feasible alternative, and accepting it would mean that there is no inconvenience to begin with, I see some potential in changing the meaning of this particular holiday.

People have been celebrating Valentine’s Day for centuries, but not everyone knows that the story of the day comes from Saint Valentine of Rome—among other Valentines—and the clandestine marriages he performed. This man was literally imprisoned in the name of love, and even in his prison cell, he kept spreading love. As corny as it sounds, Valentine’s Day is my favorite holiday. I love love. There is something special about a day that encourages people to express their love to one another. It is a day of brave-hearted love declarations and overpriced tokens of appreciation to show your loved one how much you care about them.

I have to admit that being a part of all this comes as a cultural shock to me. As an international student, I knew about Valentine’s Day from chick flicks, and it looked like a lot of fun, but that was it. However, seeing how people torture themselves by considering this joyful celebration a reminder of their singleness instead of an encouragement to express affection, I thought I might initiate some cultural exchange. To reciprocate the cultural enrichment I have had while living in the States, I have a suggestion for Valentine’s Day. Instead of conceiving it as a day for lovers, celebrating exclusively couples, why not think about it as a Día del Amor y la Amistad—a day of love and of friendship?

I’ve grown up thinking of February 14th as a day that allows me to tell the people I love that I love them. And I am a very loving individual: I love my family, my friends, and my romantic interests. Sometimes even my acquaintances get heart-shaped candy, because I consider that day to be all about spreading positive energy. In some parts of Latin America, we view Valentine’s Day as a celebration of different types of love, not just romantic love. You can love others besides the person you are in a relationship with—it’s a different type of love, but that doesn’t mean that it is any less valid.

The way I see it, adopting this Valentine’s Day system could bring several benefits to the general public. First, it would allow people who are single to celebrate the fact that they have friends By making this holiday less exclusive, more people could rejoice in their friendships without taking anything away from those who decide to commemorate their romantic relationships—saying that it does would be the same as saying that your birthday is less yours because you share it with others.

Furthermore, it would increase both the holiday sales and the general feeling of well-being. That general feeling of well-being is extremely important, as are demonstrations of affection. In “The Four Loves,” C.S. Lewis wrote that affection was responsible for nine-tenths of whatever meaningful happiness there was in one’s life, and, on a more scientific note, a researcher at Arizona State University has found that demonstrations of affection have beneficial effects on human health, including lowering stress levels—a non-pharmaceutical stress reducer that Harvard could really use.

Thinking of Valentine’s Day as a Day of Love and Friendship wouldn’t equal adopting a different holiday or destroying a tradition. On the contrary, it would represent being more open and considerate to the people we spend time with, and would encourage us to demonstrate our affection to those we love, which is the whole point of Valentine’s Day in the first place. It’s not modifying the meaning of a holiday; it’s just broadening it so that it can be enjoyed by a greater number of people. No one needs to feel lonely on Valentine’s Day, and almost everyone is grateful after hearing that they are loved, in some way, by someone else. Spread love. It’s one of the few things that have worked well for us in Mexico, so why not give it a try?

Bruno Moguel Gallegos ‘18, a Crimson editorial writer, lives in Canaday Hall.