Valentine’s Day has been around for centuries and the most well known origin story is the Saint Valentine story. It explains that Saint Valentine would marry people after the Roman Emperor, Claudius the Second, outlawed marriage so men would be more inclined to join the military. That act of disobedience got him executed Feb. 14, 278 A.D.

This began a tradition of couples swearing their love to each other at Saint Valentine’s grave, which has turned into the holiday we all know today; couples spend the day celebrating their partners. Though not all celebrate this holiday or see its value. Some see it as a capitalistic cash grab while others see the wholesome caring nature of the day. Students and faculty at Clover Hill discussed what Valentine’s Day means to them.

Andrea Ochoa, a junior at Clover Hill, explained that Valentine’s Day means a lot to her since she has a boyfriend and she thinks it is a sweet time to show how much you care.

“I really hate how, like, people always think Valentine’s is just about buying your girlfriend flowers or buying people stuff. As a person who really relies on quality time, I think it’s an opportunity where everyone who is in love, like you, or whoever has a platonic Valentine is, going out celebrating the day and celebrating the bond that you guys have. So put yourself in that situation on Valentine’s Day to learn more about your partner because I think there’s just so much you can figure out that you never realize,” Ochoa said.

Mr. Berneche, a marketing teacher at Clover Hill, gave his perspective on what Valentine’s Day means to him regarding the conflict of his subject of education and his personal life.

“I’m a marketing teacher so there’s definitely the marketing capitalistic side which kind of makes it a little bit not as special. But it’s also good to have a reminder to have something that pushes you to keep that connection because if you’re not working on staying connected, then you’re falling apart,” Berneche said.

Cavaliers also shared their favorite Valentine’s Day memories and traditions. Mr. Berneche spoke about his beach trip with his wife one year for Valentine’s Day that was very memorable for him.

“There was one Valentine’s Day in particular where we went down to the beach in February and there was nobody there and we just got to walk on the beach by ourselves and the beach has always sort of been our place. So that was pretty memorable for me,” Berneche said.

Ochoa spoke about her memorable Valentine’s Day she spent with her brother one year getting ramen, highlighting the idea of non-romantic participation in the holiday.

“My brother, every year I didn’t have a Valentine and even before like since I was a little kid, my brother would take me out for Valentine’s Day and one time we went out to this ramen place like Takara Ramen and it was the first time I’d ever had genuine ramen and it’s so nice. Spending time with family in a non-family setting like actually having dinner and that was like the first time when I actually got close with my brother,” Ochoa said.

 Students spoke about their plans for Valentine’s Day and who they were spending it with. Ochoa discussed her plans for who she would be spending this Valentine’s Day with.

“My scrumptious boyfriend, Leo. Since our seven months is on Valentine’s Day we are going to Sushi King because that’s our tradition,” Ochoa said.

There are many ways to celebrate this holiday besides with a romantic partner it can also be a time for you to show love to friends and family.