Every year on February 14th, people around the world celebrate their love for each other on Valentine’s Day. Chamblee students celebrate the day in a variety of different ways, from a date night to a brunch with friends.

“I love Valentine’s Day because it’s just a day where you can really show your love for certain people you have in your life. I don’t see it as a bad thing. It’s not my favorite holiday, but you get to make cute cookies,” said Lilly Lauterbach (‘26).

Many love Valentine’s Day because it is a day to remind people how much they are loved.

“Of course I love Valentine’s Day. It’s a day to express our feelings to our significant other,” said Ethan Hernandez (‘26).

While many love Valentine’s Day because it is about love, others dislike the commercialism that comes with the holiday.

“I don’t like Valentine’s Day because it seems boring and performative to me. A lot of it is just buying face-value things for other people, not even handmade items,” said Olivia Klein (‘26).

Many have mixed feelings about Valentine’s Day as well; people enjoy some parts but not others.

“I like certain parts of Valentine’s Day; I enjoy eating chocolates and watching rom-coms. It’s definitely not one of my favorite holidays. I feel like it’s partially a money-making scheme too,” said Mary Entrekin (‘25). 

While Valentine’s Day is traditionally for people to show their romantic partners love, many family members exchange gifts to show their love for one another as well.

“Sometimes my mom will get me and my brother a small gift on Valentine’s Day, but other than that, I don’t really have any traditions. My mom will get us small snacks. One time she got us a big thing of Tic Tacs, and another time, she got us some chocolate. It’s normally just smaller treats,” said Lauterbach.

Many spend Valentine’s Day with their significant other; however, some couples aren’t able to spend the day together due to long distances.

“I don’t have any Valentine’s Day plans this year because my boyfriend doesn’t live in this country. He lives in Germany, and we met over Christmas Break. He has been a family friend for forever, though. Instead of going to see him for Valentine’s Day, I’m going to surprise him for his birthday,” said Lauterbach.

Gift giving is a common aspect of Valentine’s Day for many; some people give chocolates, flowers, or handmade cards.

“For Valentine’s Day, I like to give a girl flowers and chocolates and to let her know how much I love her. I’ve also seen these glowing flowers that are pretty cool, and the big teddy bears sound fun too,” said Hernandez.

Some aren’t able to spend the day celebrating Valentine’s Day due to prior commitments and extracurricular activities.

“I normally end up in rehearsal on Valentine’s Day for whatever musical the school is doing.In the past, I’ve always loved receiving little Valentine’s Day cards, so I’ll do those for my friends,” said Lilly Gamba (‘25).

Valentine’s Day has also become a day to celebrate friends; many girls host a Galentine’s.

Gamba said, “I love the idea of Galentine’s. I think it’s so cute to see girls celebrating other girls and not making it all about romantic love. I think it’s really nice to see friends hanging out.”