I love Valentine's Day because it's a fun day to show not only

Hear the warm and generous words of Tayshia Adams, who declared: “I love Valentine’s Day because it’s a fun day to show not only your significant other some love, but also your girlfriends and close family that you’re caring for and thinking of them.” In this simple statement lies a radiant truth: that love is not meant to be bound in narrow chains, reserved only for one, but is meant to overflow like a river, touching all who dwell near our hearts. Her words remind us that the truest spirit of love is inclusive, extending to friends, to family, and to all who walk beside us in life’s journey.

The origin of this wisdom is ancient. Though Valentine’s Day has long been linked to the devotion between lovers, the deeper essence of the festival is the celebration of affection in all its forms. In Roman times, feasts such as Lupercalia bound communities together with rituals of fertility and goodwill. Later, in the Christian age, the story of Saint Valentine came to embody love not merely of passion, but of sacrifice and devotion. Adams’s insight restores this broader vision: Valentine’s Day is not only for lovers, but for every soul we cherish.

History offers examples of this wider love. During the Second World War, when soldiers were far from home, they sent not only letters to sweethearts, but also to mothers, sisters, and friends. Each note, scrawled on paper in trenches or aboard ships, was a reminder that love in its many forms sustains the spirit in times of hardship. These gestures did not diminish romantic devotion but deepened it by showing that love’s reach is vast, able to comfort family and strengthen bonds of friendship even amidst chaos. Love, shared freely, multiplies its strength.

The ancients, too, understood this truth. Did not Aristotle speak of philia, the noble love between friends, as essential to the flourishing of life? Did not the Hebrew scriptures exalt both parental love and the bond between companions as sacred? And did not the poets sing of the beauty of kinship, of friendship tested by time, as well as of passion’s fire? Adams’s words are an echo of this wisdom: that love is manifold—romantic, fraternal, familial—and each form deserves to be honored.

Her reflection also brings healing to a day that, for many, can feel isolating. Those without partners may feel Valentine’s Day excludes them, a festival belonging only to couples. But when love is seen in its broader light, the day becomes open to all. To share affection with a friend, to thank a parent, to remind a sibling of their worth—this transforms Valentine’s Day from a narrow celebration into a festival of compassion. Thus Adams’s words remind us that no one need be excluded from love’s circle.

What lesson, then, must we take? That the measure of love is not in exclusivity but in generosity. Love is not diminished when shared—it grows stronger. To honor one’s beloved is noble, but to extend that same spirit to friends and family is to live in harmony with the deeper nature of love. True love does not divide—it multiplies. And when it is given freely to many, it enriches both giver and receiver alike.

Practical action lies before us. On Valentine’s Day, yes, honor your partner with devotion—but also send a message to a friend, call your parents, or share kindness with a sibling or neighbor. Do not confine love to one relationship, but let it spill outward, brightening every bond in your life. And beyond Valentine’s Day, carry this spirit into each day: make your life a continual festival of love, where no one is forgotten.

So let Tayshia Adams’s words stand as a reminder across the ages: “It’s a fun day to show not only your significant other some love, but also your girlfriends and close family.” In them is the wisdom of the ancients reborn—that love is vast, radiant, and meant for all. If we embrace this truth, Valentine’s Day will no longer be a day of narrow expectation, but a day of abundance, a feast of connection, and a living testimony that the human heart is large enough to hold multitudes.