Even though many people buy exorbitant Valentine’s Day gifts to demonstrate their love, it’s good to remember romance doesn’t come in a box!

The most popular theory about Valentine’s Days origin is that Emperor Claudius II didn’t want Roman men to marry during wartime. Bishop Valentine went against his wishes and performed secret weddings. For this, Valentine was jailed and executed and wrote a letter to the daughter’s jailer, signed, “From your Valentine.” He was buried on February 14th, but it wasn’t until the Middle Ages that Valentine’s Day became associated with romantic love. Interestingly, according to List 25, on average, men spend twice as much as women in Valentine’s Day. The average amount a man spends is $130. Also, Valentine’s is the second most popular day of the year for sending cards, after Christmas. In a random survey of 100 Morton East students, 36 of them feel that a romantic gesture on Valentine’s Day is more powerful than in any other day. 

“Yes, it is more powerful on Valentine’s day because that’s the day you show love and affection to your partner, and it counts more because that’s the one day that is dedicated to love,” sophomore Anthony Vazquez said. 

Although a couple of people believe that a romantic gesture on Valentine’s Day is more powerful than in any other day, others believe otherwise for several reasons.  

“I believe it’s not because you should be able to show love to your partner every day of the year, not once a year because of Valentine’s Day. It means more if you were to randomly do it instead of waiting for Valentine’s to show a romantic gesture to your partner,” senior Milo Vazquez said. 

Other people believe that a romantic gesture will always be powerful no matter the day.

“If you truly appreciate your partner, a romantic gesture will be meaningful to you regardless of the day, not just on Valentine’s Day,” senior Christian Lopez said. 

Others had the wrong perspective of love and thought a romantic gesture was more powerful on Valentine’s Day. 

“Well, for me, I used to feel like a romantic gesture on Valentine’s Day because that was the only day my ex-boyfriend would show any type of affection. Other than that, I would always feel like he was only with me because he was used to it. I felt like he had lost feelings over the time we were dating,” senior Juliana Rodriguez said. 

But, over time, love gestures on Valentine’s Day have lost their meaning. 

“I think on Valentine’s Day the romantic gesture may lose some of its value because that’s what everybody does, and some people do big gestures one day of the year. So, generally, I think the romantic gesture isn’t more powerful than any other day,” senior Yesenia Mata said.