Anyone born on a holiday can tell you how much it rocks and sucks to be born on such a distinct day of the month. There are the drawbacks of being born on Christmas, the awesomeness of being born on Halloween, and even the mediocre-ness of being born on a holiday like President’s Day. However, Valentine’s Day is one of those holidays that people either love to pieces or hate with their entire being. Being born on this day is a mixture of having so much fun, being unfathomably sad, or being pissed off that people keep coming up to you about how much it must suck to be born on such an awful day (P.S. KEEP IT TO YOURSELF!). As the title of this article implies, I do have personal experience with all of the above. I have had the pleasure of being born on such an amazing and terrible day!
In all actuality, having my birthday on Valentine’s Day isn’t all that bad. There are downsides just as much as there are things to be excited about. In this article, I’m going to discuss both sides so everyone can get a better understanding of why it’s good and bad.
The Good
When I was little, I never knew that my birthday was all that different from everyone else’s. My mom always made an extra special effort to ensure that I didn’t feel like the holiday was overshadowing my birthday. If anything, it was fun to get valentines from classmates, eat candy, and get double the presents! I always used to brag about my birthday being on Valentine’s Day; I thought it made me special because my mom had always made it special for me.
When I got a little older, I realized that there were a few reasons why I shouldn’t be that excited that my birthday was on this specific holiday. However, those thoughts passed when I happened to be dating someone during the holiday. When you have someone to love on Valentine’s Day the sun is brighter, the grass is greener, and the air is sweeter: it’s like you’re walking in the clouds. People who love love and are in love are HUUUGE fans of Valentine’s and would often say how sweet it is that I’m born on such a love-filled day. I constantly get things like “You must get so many gifts!”, “Is it sooo great to be born on a holiday about love?!”, and even comments asking me if I’m Cupid or at least related to him (girl what?).
And I’ll be honest, if I’m in a relationship during my birthday, it usually is a lot more fun because I feel more loved since the day is all about love. I also make sure to tell whoever I’m with that it is not acceptable to only get me a Valentine’s gift OR a birthday gift, there is no one or the other! So having my birthday on a holiday all about the big “L word” can be pretty great if things go according to plan. And when all else fails, no matter where I am, my mom always sends me a box of chocolate-covered strawberries since she knows they’re my favorite dessert. As long as there’s one person who makes me feel as special on my birthday as my mom always has, I’ll be set for life.
The Bad
While there are some good things about being born on Valentine’s Day, there are some major downsides. The first is the many, many cynics who feel the need to say something about how much they hate the day: “love sucks”, “this shouldn’t be a real holiday”, “flowers and chocolate are a waste of money”, “Valentine’s Day is just a fake, commercial holiday for big corporations to make more money”, and on and on and on. For the people who actually enjoy this holiday and what it represents, these people are just annoying, grating reminders that some people don’t want others to enjoy themselves. Why can’t we all just let each other like what we like?
The second reason why it sucks is honestly a common reason for most people: being single on the day sucks. While it sucks to be single on Valentine’s Day because it’s a day all about love, it sucks even more to be single on Valentine’s Day when it’s also your birthday. Not only is there a reminder from the holiday that you’re single, but everything is supposed to be about you on your birthday and you can’t stop thinking about how single, sad, and alone you are. Awesome birthday thoughts!
Another reason is that your birthday is supposed to be all about you. Unfortunately, this cannot be true when you’re born on a holiday that is meant to celebrate other people. Don’t get me wrong, I love everything about Valentine’s Day: what it represents, what it means to people, how people celebrate, etc. But when your birthday is on a day that’s all about everyone else, sometimes you feel forgotten rather than how you would want to feel on your special day. For example, every year I am invited to Galentine’s parties or the inevitable “Black Hearts” party. No one ever thinks, “Oh, it’s Emily’s birthday, let’s throw her a birthday party!” Just once I want a friend to care more about my birthday than absolutely loving or despising Valentine’s Day. This is 100% my biggest reason for hating that my birthday is on Valentine’s Day.
The Dirty
No matter if you like, love, hate, despise, or are even uncomfortable talking about this topic, we all know how much we want to be having fun on V-Day. And I don’t know about you, but I also like to have same kind of fun on my birthday as well. Being unable to get down and dirty on the day known for getting down and dirty is depressing, but not being able to do it when it’s your birthday AND Valentine’s? Brutal. But knowing that literally EVERYONE ELSE is having the kind of fun you want to be having on your day? Literal tragedy.
All in all, having your birthday on Valentine’s Day isn’t the worst thing ever, there are just disappointments that come with the territory (honestly just like any other birthday). If there’s one thing you take from this article, I hope it’s that you make someone’s birthday special if you can. Even the people who “hate” their birthday secretly want their day to be extra special and to feel loved. If you have a friend who has a birthday on a holiday, please take the extra steps to ensure you’re not just celebrating the holiday with them but actually celebrating their birthday first and the holiday second; it sucks so much to come in second place for anyone, so just keep that in mind! I hope this helped you see things from a different perspective. Lastly, HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!