Singles Awareness Day is on February 15, so if you’re single and totally despise Valentine’s Day in all of its commercial glory, this is the perfect holiday for you.
Originally, Valentine’s Day became a SAD (Singles Awareness Day) day for people without significant others, so they decided to revolt and take that acronym back. They chose empowerment and self-love instead of indulging in a self-loathing soiree.
In the words of pop sensation, Lizzo, “True love finally happens when you’re by yourself.” Singles Awareness Day is now celebrated by loving yourself!
After a Christmas spent with elderly family members asking when they’re finally going to get married, or at least find a boyfriend or girlfriend to bring home, life does not get any easier for singles after Christmas, either. No sooner have the Santa Claus and snowman decorations vanished from the shops than the shelves begin to burst with cuddly teddy bears, heart-shaped balloons, and boxes of cheap chocolates, all in shades of nauseating neon pinks and reds. Yes, Valentine’s Day has become one of the world’s most profitable occasions, yet another marketing scheme that has hit pay dirt more than the original creators of the idea could have ever dreamed.
If you’re in a relationship Valentine’s day is bad enough, what with all the additional pressure to be ‘romantic’, if such rampant and blatant consumerism and commercialism can be considered romantic at all. The restaurants are all overpacked with couples trying too hard to impress each other, and it seems every flower in the whole city has been bought out, just so someone can say it’s pretty once and then throw it away. Hallmark holidays are called that for a reason.
Learn about Singles Awareness Day
Singles Awareness Day takes place on the day after Valentine’s Day. It is also commonly known as Singles Appreciation Day. It is designed as a day for single people to celebrate. After all, those in relationships get to experience the joy of Valentine’s Day, so why shouldn’t single people have a day for themselves as well? It is also a great day for recognizing other forms of love, for example, the love between family and friends, as well as loving yourself. There are some people who celebrate this day because they dislike Valentine’s Day. You probably know a lot of people who think that Valentine’s Day is just a commercialized day so that the card shops and other stores can make money. You may even be one of these people yourself. If so, Singles Awareness Day is probably the sort of day you would very much enjoy.
On this day, single people will often get together in honor of their single status. Whether your love being single or you’re not so happy about it, Single Awareness Day is important because everyone can take a moment to realize that you do not need to be in a relationship in order to have a happy life.
There are many different events that take place on this date. This includes gathering with friends and family members, as well as volunteering and traveling. In fact, there are a lot of people who use this as an opportunity to take a trip to Brazil for the Carnival that takes place during this period. The main way to celebrate Singles Awareness Day, though, is to treat yourself. After all, we all deserve a treat from time-to-time, don’t we? That’s what this day is about. So, if you have been wanting a certain pair of shoes for quite some time, today is the day to purchase them! Or, how about taking yourself out for a lovely meal? Treat yourself and appreciate how amazing you are.
History of Valentine’s Day
For singles, on the other hand, Valentine’s day can be a simple and cruel reminder that they are alone. No pink stuffed animals for them, and no tacky heart-shaped boxes of poor quality chocolate, either, though one does tend to wonder whether that really makes them worse off in the first place.
Singles Awareness Day used to be an alternate name used for Valentine’s Day among those who found themselves unattached during the day, but it all became too depressing. So by single’s hive-mind consensus, it fell to the day after as a perfect antitode to all of the neon nonsense.
How to Celebrate Singles Awareness/Appreciation Day
Being single used to mean that nobody wanted you. Now it means you’re pretty sexy and you’re taking your time deciding how you want your life to be and who you want to spend it with.
Carrie Bradshaw
It’s a humorous holiday to celebrate being single, to share with single friends, to send each other presents or even order yourself some flowers. On this day many people wear green, as it is the complementary opposite of red. Another popular option is an absence of color (black), to symbolize an absence of celebration. One increasingly popular activity is to travel to Brazil and witness the Brazilian Carnival.
The trip, coupled with the fact that Brazil doesn’t celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 14, but in June, provides a temporary getaway from the neon pink of the Valentine’s holiday in the Western culture, by simply substituting it with another celebration. Some who celebrate Singles Awareness Day just want to remind romantic couples that they don’t need to be in a relationship to celebrate life, and that the key to being happy is being able to be happy with yourself.
Contrary to popular misconceptions, Singles Awareness Day is not about self-pity but rather a chance to announce to the world that you are single and happy to be so. Originally, most singles referred to February 14 as Single’s Awareness Day (acronym: SAD) until it they realized that that was just depressing.
Choosing the next day allowed single people a chance to turn this into a celebration rather than a festival of self-pity. There is no reason to be miserable that you are independent and unattached; on the contrary, there are many more people in relationships than you might think who rather wish they were in your shoes, with nobody to answer to but themselves. This is the day that all of the single people can proudly stand up and show that it is okay to be single. Take that, cupid!
It is also important to make sure that all of your single friends and family members feel appreciated. You never know how someone is feeling. While some people embrace being single, there are others who feel incredibly down about their single status. They may feel that no one wants them or that they are never going to be in a relationship. It is important to lift these people up and to let them know how incredible they are. Plus, it always feels good to be nice to others and make them feel better about themselves, doesn’t it?
History of Singles Awareness Day
Like all great movements, Singles Awareness Day was created from feelings of isolation. Around 2001, Dustin Barnes decided to create a day for his group of friends to enjoy their singleness rather than drown in their sorrows. This group of high school boys not only chose February 15 as a protest of Valentine’s Day but also realized they could score candy and love-themed items at a huge discount. What’s better than chocolates and truffles? 50% off of chocolates and truffles, of course.
Dustin carried the tradition from his high school on to Mississippi State University, where the holiday gained popularity. Singles Awareness Day was legitimately copyrighted in 2005 and continued to grow from there. Considering that almost half of the U.S. population is single, according to census results, it’s no surprise that this day became so popular. College students began celebrating the day with their single friends by exchanging gifts, throwing parties, and going on friend dates.
Now adults of all ages celebrate the day as a reminder that you don’t need a relationship to celebrate love. You can love yourself, your family, and your friends. There’s no reason to feel lonely around Valentine’s Day when love is all around you. The holiday continues to evolve as people own their singleness and express self-love. The hashtag #SinglesAwarenessDay currently has over 55,000 posts on Instagram and counting.
Ultimately, Dustin found a singles church group where he met his wife. By celebrating Singles Awareness Day, you could potentially meet your future spouse. You never know!
