Whether it’s an old ink-written letter slipped into a backpack by a secret admirer, a night-time date stargazing on a blanket in the grass, or a lovey-dovey paragraph sent right at dawn, romance has always been the key aspect of Valentine’s Day. The holiday focuses on promising couples, some alone time, giving families a reason to laugh, telling stories, and creating an excuse to make your friends a cheesy card with a really bad pun about an even worse show. Regardless of the reason, celebrating Valentine’s Day has always been around. But over the years, these traditions have shifted and changed. What exactly did they begin as, and what are they now?
Firstly, we have Boomers. Boomers, otherwise known as Baby Boomers, are the people born from 1946 and 1964. These people are mostly our grandparents, from ages 61 to 79. Boyd Corl, a well-known social butterfly of Bellefonte, was asked for his experience on the holiday.
“I would buy a card and candy with money I earned. Then I would draw a heart on the card and put my crush’s name on it and write something mushy on the card,” says Boyd.
“There would be a Valentine’s dance at the school on Friday night and a dance at the [YMCA] or Logan Fire Company hall. Sometimes we would go to a movie at the Plaza in Bellefonte or go bowling,” he continued.
Next is Gen X. This generation ranges from 1965 to 1980, following ages 46 to 60. At the time, one of the most popular movies about romance was Can’t Buy me Love (1987), starring Patrick Dempsey and Amanda Peterson. The movie follows Ronald Miller, a nerd, who pays Cindy Macini, a cheerleader, to be his girlfriend. Of course, they end up actually falling in love. This movie includes a front-lawn confession, a school dance, and many smaller gestures of mushy romance that romance-preferring cinephiles hunt for. This movie encapsulates the generation’s traditions, from bouquets of flowers to letters in lockers.
The Millennial generation, 1981 to 1996, ranges from ages 29 to 46 years old. Most parents of Gen Z fall into this category. These years are when smart devices and portable media began to really take its toll on the world. This era is also when the idea of friend-dates grew popular. Teens were ideally socializing with their friends rather than following the “lover or nobody” mindset.
Finally, our generation, Gen Z. Gen Z, from 1997 to 2012, is considered the first “digitally-native” generation, which means we were born in an era with smart phones having nationwide popularity. Valentine’s Day has also grown to fit inside of these parameters. The traditions of letters, candy, and flowers still exist, but more casual gestures such as a romantic text, a cuddle date, or going out for lunch are way more popular.
“I would personally spend Valentine’s Day with my partner, giving them gifts and a nice card to start the day off, spending time together all throughout the day, going out to eat and ending off the night beside them,” says Hayden Richards, a freshman at Bellefonte High School.