Each year, people around the world celebrate Valentine’s Day with their loved ones in different ways. Valentine’s Day is a day where love and appreciation are shared with others through acts of kindness and gift-giving. Though this day is popular among couples, people without a Valentine can have fun on this holiday in their own special way. Valentine’s Day can serve as a reminder to celebrate love in all its forms, not just romantic love, but also love for family and friends.
This year, many RM students decided to have a Galentine’s celebration with friends instead of a date. Galentine’s Day is officially on Feb. 13 and symbolizes the love and friendships between women. Single students were able to combine their Galentine’s celebrations with those of their Valentine’s. “I went out with all of my friends to the bakery, Japong,” freshman Quynh Mi Hoang said. “I gave them all candy and they gave me candy.”
Just like giving and receiving gifts from a significant other on Valentine’s Day, friends exchanged goodies to show their appreciation for one another. “We [did] a hear-me out cake,” freshman Maya Chaudhry said.
Students were also reminded of fond memories of past Valentine’s Days as this year’s Valentine’s Day approached. “In elementary school, we used to have those parties where we would give everybody candy,” Chaudhry said. “During class, we would make little bags, and you just go around dropping the candy at the back.”
Spending Valentine’s Day with family was also a big part in the Valentine’s celebrations among students. “One time my dad came home from a business trip when I was younger, and he took me shopping…so I got the biggest stuffed animal,” Hoang said. With each Valentine’s Day coming along, students have found new ways to celebrate the holiday and strengthen bonds with loved ones, and not necessarily significant others.
One special celebration on Valentine’s Day that was enjoyed by many students and teachers throughout RM was the chamber chorus’ Valentine’s performances. Students could choose to write a personal message to a close friend or peer that would be hand-delivered to them in one of their class periods. The delivery of the messages included a group of students in chorus singing a song to the receiver of the ‘Valentide.’
The singers started working on their parts about a month before Valentine’s Day. “We met, like other days during lunch, and usually we just use class time to, like, work on arrangements,” sophomore Kiran said.
Some of the different songs performed throughout the day included “Baby” by Justin Bieber, “Girl in Red” and “Love is an Open Door.” To make the deliveries of the letters even more memorable, the messengers dressed up to match the festivity of the holiday. “We all wore, like, red or pink,” said Kiran. The performances allowed not only the receiver of the Valentide, a bundle of Valentine’s spirit, but all of their peers who were in the classroom with them, to listen to the songs.
