Once a year on February 14, Valentine’s Day makes its way back onto the calendar and is known as the day of love.
Valentine’s Day is a day to celebrate love and affection through gestures, cards and gifts, which may look different to each person. It is a chance to display and celebrate romantic love, friendship and admiration.
Capital One Shopping states, “Americans spent an estimated $2.2 billion on Valentine’s Day candy in 2022. During the week of Valentine’s Day, consumers purchase 58 million pounds of chocolate and candy.”
According to Statista, “In 2025, around 56 percent of respondents in the United States said they planned to celebrate Valentine’s Day.”
Valentine’s Day became a celebrated romantic holiday in the 14th century according to Britannica.
History.com provides information about the history behind Valentine’s Day, stating,, “While some believe that Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine’s death or burial—which probably occurred around A.D. 270—others claim that the Christian church may have decided to place St. Valentine’s feast day in the middle of February in an effort to “Christianize” the pagan celebration of Lupercalia.”
When St. Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius Gothicus II ordered that he be put to death.
According to National Geographic, “The Catholic martyr St. Valentine was beheaded on that date in the third century, supposedly for breaking a Roman ban on performing marriages.”
Valentine’s Day is a holiday that not everyone has to engage in, however, Keene State students were asked what they think could be considered the worst Valentine’s Day date ideas.
“An amusement park would be the worst date,” said junior Emelia Shea. “There are too many people and it doesn’t seem too romantic and I do not want to feel sick from the rides.”
“The worst place would be the mall court. Nobody goes to the mall, most of them are closed and rundown. The emptiness is creepy and the food there is mid,” said junior Pete Schmidt.
Junior Lex Gargan said, “The worst Valentine’s date would be a jail if you were going to visit someone for the first time and they are in jail.”
“You cannot even hold their hand or do anything you would do on an actual date and would need to talk through a phone,” continued Gargan.
“The fish mart is the worst because you guys are both going to end up smelling really bad,” Said senior Nicholas Lurie. “Honestly, if both people are disgusted in that environment, it is just not a good environment to be in on Valentine’s Day.”
Ali Barretta can be contacted at
