Are we already here? Are we seriously two weeks into February? It seems like just the other day that I was taking down my holiday decorations… Oh wait, I was! I left my Christmas up a little long this year. I always cling to the holiday season a little hard because I refuse to even think about Valentines Day until the week of. I wasn’t even thinking about this dreaded holiday until mid January when I was passing through our local Walmart and noticed a display of “silk” (rayon) nighties and champagne setting with them.

As I gawked at this display, I couldn’t help but think “wow, this is so much…”

I was taken back by the amount of red, white, and pink there was surrounding me. This made me question, why are these colors associated with Valentine’s Day at all? So, naturally being the person I am, I had to do some research. I had to figure out why these colors are liked to love and affection. 

When digging deep, I learned that red dye used to be expensive and luxurious and people would make a whole career out of trading it. This dye was extremely difficult to get your hands on and came at an astounding price when you did do so, this made the color a hot commodity and women were going crazy to flaunt off a garment with a dyed red aspect. Red became the favourite color amongst the wealthy of France, making it a symbol of luxury and even royalty. When non-natural dyes came in culture, the hysteria of it was put to rest. Red became associated with passion after that. Some say that the red we use at holiday represents the blood pumping through our veins and how it keeps our heart beating, flushing our cheeks and keeping us alive. The color could have also derived from Roman women wearing red veils at their weddings or how many Chinese brides still wear red wedding dresses to this day. 

White is affiliated with Valentine’s day because of the symbolism of the color itself. In the eyes of many, white stands for innocence and purity. This is why brides are supposed to wear white on their wedding day, showing their purity up until the wedding day, saving themselves for marriage. White Day is a holiday celebrated on March 14th, in many Asian countries. The women dress in white and give men small sweets and gifts. This day is supposed to be a response day to Valentines Day, where boys would usually ask a girl out, giving them one month to think about it and answer. 

Pink, was introduced to the holiday of love last. I think this is my favorite color for this holiday because of how simple it is. When you take red and white and mix them together you get pink (…sorry to take you back to some first grade level art). Mixing the hot, passionate meaning of red, with the sweet innocence of white, you come up with the middle ground, pink.  There really is nothing else to it. 

All because of a very “high class” display at Herrin Walmart, I went into a deep rabbit hole of historical research about these colors and what their connections to Valentine’s Day are… This is why I will be spending this holiday alone on my couch, sitting in my Muumuu and eating bobons while watching Casablanca and crying at the T.V. 

I wish you all a wonderful Valentines Day, and I hope you all make good decisions for the future.