Imagine trying to explain our version of Valentine’s Day to someone who had no idea what Valentine’s Day was. For me it’s akin to trying to explain what the word oofta means to anyone outside of Minnesota. In spite of this lack of uniformity there are always well known traits of Valentine’s that we all can recognize, such as the typical Hallmark card, a heart shaped boxes of chocolates, and especially the yearly spike in sales of cats and Ben and Jerry’s Ice cream.

Much like prom traditions, Valentine’s Day has been blown out of proportion, and it has become normal for couples to lavish gifts ranging from hundreds to the thousands of dollars worth of flowers, chocolates, and diamonds on one another. Have we lost the true meaning of Valentine’s Day?

We have warped the  life of St. Valentine but at the same time Valentine’s Day was used as a time where couples could spend time together and maintain their relationship. In the 21st century it seems that people just assign a dollar value for how much love they feel.

Now of course it can be nice to do special things for your partner, and I am especially guilty of spoiling the people I love, coming from an Italian-American family it is pretty much a genetic trait at this point.

That said, I always make sure to include something that has significance to them. In the end the best gift is the one that has a story behind it.

This Valentine’s Day make sure you spend a good amount of time with your partner, do something free. Take a walk in the Arb (if you can bear the cold), see the weekend movie, sit at the Courtyard Cafe and talk. If the day is good enough, they won’t always need a physical gift to remember it by.

Also, Valentine’s Day doesn’t even need to be romantic! We all know full well that many single people will celebrate the sacred holiday on February 13th–Gal-entine’s day–when single girls will just get together with their friends and have fun. This weekend is just an excuse to appreciate the people in your life that you love, romantically or not.