Valentine’s Day, like any other holiday, encompasses a variety of traditions and ways people choose to celebrate the occasion. Some range from the heartwarming, to the heartbreaking, to the classics like chocolate and flowers. These different types of celebration can paint a small picture of what Valentine’s Day is like for Sinclair students.
A common Valentine’s date practice is going to a restaurant for a romantic dinner. However, sometimes things go awry that make the experience much more memorable.
“Me and my girlfriend at the time went to the melting pot,” Adrienne Draper said. “And they make the fondue in front of you and give you little desserts to dip it in. It was the waiter’s first day, and he kinda got the fondue over our whole plate. So our brownies and cheesecakes were covered with the stuff. He was so embarrassed and apologized, and we said ‘it’s cool.’ It was actually really good anyway.”
Trey Lutz had a similar experience when taking his grandparents out to Frisch’s with his siblings.
“My grandpa ordered pecan banana pancakes, but the banana they cut up was as solid as a chip was, and crunched when you bit into it,” Lutz said. “So we’re all taking turns biting into this crunchy pancake, and it was just funny.”
Clarence Hill spoke of a disastrous event that happened with his date on the way to a fancy restaurant.
“It was a very fancy restaurant, the type with valet parking and expensive meals,” Hill said. “Unfortunately, the lot was full and we had to park far away, and of course it started pouring rain. I was wearing a silk shirt, and my date was wearing a really nice silky dress.”
“We were soaking wet when we walked in, and got everything our seats, the table and the ground wet,” Hill said. “The manager came out and politely asked us to dry off in the waiting area.”
A possibly less traditional way of celebrating was brought to us by Nat S. Nat celebrates by hanging out with her friends and family.
“We try to embarrass each other with how much we love them.” She said.
Haylee Hall describes an interesting gift that she receives during the holiday.
“My boyfriend always gives me a cactus as a gift,” Hall said. “Every year. I love them and he does too, we both love all things cacti.”
Shannon Bunch also takes a different approach to the holiday, treating it as a time for self care.
“Me and my friends we usually have like a slay day, where we get our makeup done… cause like, screw relationships nowadays,” Bunch said. “We usually watch some movies, then have a spa day and get our nails done, then go to the mall.”
Aja Love describes the time-old tradition of giving Valentine’s cards and gifts to students in elementary school.
“I remember [Valentine’s Day] being crazy when I was a kid in school,” Love said. “We always were nice to each other beforehand so that we would get all the nice little treats from each other. I remember one year I felt really bad, cause I completely forgot about the holiday, and didn’t have anything for anybody.”
“I was getting all these cards from people and I was like ‘I don’t have anything for you, but thanks and have a happy Valentine’s Day.’ That’s one of my vivid memories from that time,” Love said.
Another heartwarming tradition comes from Linnea Albers. Linnea is a big hugger in general, but she said especially so on Valentine’s Day.
“I try to be more intentional in giving hugs to my friends to know they are loved on Valentine’s Day.” She said.
The tradition of Valentine’s Day means something slightly different to everyone. Some may not celebrate at all. Some celebrate it as a romantic holiday, an odd tradition, an excuse for a fancy date night or even just a great way to get discount chocolate the day after.
Regardless, the holiday presents many opportunities to spread kindness and love to those you care about.
Henry Wolski
Executive Editor
Cerridwyn Kuykendall
Associate Editor