With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, many restaurants have come up with special deals for couples to make things extra romantic on 14 February. Yet, the idea of going the extra mile to celebrate Valentine’s Day has, all this while, received mixed reactions.
To learn more about what Singaporeans think, YouGov recently conducted a survey on Valentine’s Day celebrations. Read on to find out more about the results.
If you’ve watched Big Bang Theory, you’d recall the scene when Sheldon explained the dark origins of Valentine’s Day. It has nothing to do with love, but rather came about because of a brutal murder ‒ Valentine’s Day only became commericalised in the early 20th century, thanks to greetings card company Hallmark.
As such, YouGov asked over 19,000 people from 18 countries whether they would view Valentine’s Day with as much significance, if not for the pressure from commercial entities.
The results showed that 45% of Chinese believe the occasion is celebrated mostly due to commercial pressure ‒ a thought shared by 82% of Danish and 85% of Spanish respondents. Singapore sits in the middle, with 63% of Singaporeans agreeing with this statement.
On the other hand, only 24% of Singaporean respondents felt that Valentine’s Day was celebrated because it is a “proper” special occasion.
The study also revealed 30% of Singaporean respondents, aged between 18 and 24, are more accepting of the idea of celebrating Valentine’s Day. However, the general trend still shows that the majority of Singaporeans are sceptical about this “special” day, and highlights that commercial pressure is the driving force behind any V-Day celebrations.
Surprisingly, gender didn’t play a huge role in these results, since they also showed both Singaporean men and women being cynical about the celebrations.
Everyone celebrates the love they have for their partner in their own way, and there is no right or wrong. Whether you choose to celebrate Valentine’s Day ‒ or not ‒ you don’t have to feel pressured to make the celebrations flashy and extravagant. More than that, it doesn’t have to be Valentine’s Day for you to celebrate your Valentine.
For more information about the study, head over to YouGov’s official website.
Cover: Image courtesy of The Smart Local.
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