Way back in the year 1967, which was before many of you were even born, a well-known British rock band by the name of The Beatles recorded a song called “All You Need Is Love”. As I sit here in the church office on this cold January morning in the year 2025, I think back on that song and all the different levels of meanings we could take from it.
What has brought this on, Pastor Tim, you may ask? Well, it’s February after all, the “month of love”. It is the month of Valentine’s Day. Did you know that Valentine’s Day spending is one of the highest amounts for any holiday of the year. In the year 2023, which was the most recent year for which I could find statistics, very nearly twenty-six billion dollars was spent. That came out to an average per person spending, according to those statistics, of $274.00 per person. Wow!
Here is some info from a website called lendingtree.com. It is very interesting to say the least. This info was projected for the past year 2024.
16 Valentine’s Day Spending Statistics
- 82% of Americans in relationships — whether dating, engaged or married — planned to buy Valentine’s Day gifts for their significant others in 2024.
- These Americans in relationships planned to spend an average of $180 on their significant others for Valentine’s Day in 2024.
- That $180 average was lower than in 2023 ($187) and 2022 ($208) but higher than in 2021 ($144) and 2020 ($142).
- Men expected to spend 116% more on their valentines in 2024 than women — $248 versus $115.
- Millennials planned to spend the most on their significant others among the age groups for Valentine’s Day in 2024, shelling out an average of $262. That’s followed by Gen Z’ers ($201), Gen Xers ($138) and baby boomers ($81).
- 33% of consumers in relationships said they may take on credit card debt due to Valentine’s Day spending this year.
- 24% planned to gift their partner an experience, such as travel, tickets or a dinner out, in 2024. Experiences were also the top gift significant others hoped to receive.
- 61% of Americans expected to celebrate Valentine’s Day in 2024 — up four percentage points from 2023. That’s tied with New Year’s Eve for the biggest expected jump between 2023 and 2024.
- 11% of Americans typically prepare more than three months before Valentine’s Day. Another 17% prepare only one to two days in advance.
- Only 12% of Americans gather with friends and family for Valentine’s Day — the lowest among 14 tracked holidays. The next closest is Halloween, at 28%.
- 39% of Americans go out to eat for Valentine’s Day — the highest among those same tracked holidays. An additional 13% order food for takeout or delivery.
- 40% of Valentine’s Day celebrators planned to buy gifts at big-box stores like Walmart and Target — the highest category. They also planned to shop at grocery stores (33%), online retailers (27%) and discount or dollar stores (23%).
- Consumers were expected to spend $25.8 billion on Valentine’s Day in 2024, down from $25.9 billion in 2023.
- Consumers were expected to spend $14.2 billion on their significant others this Valentine’s Day, up from $13.5 billion in 2023.
- 58 million pounds of chocolate are purchased during Valentine’s Day week.
- About 145 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged every year, making it the second-largest holiday for doing so.
All well and good, I suppose. But what about the greatest love of all (another song title, I believe)? John 3:16 says, “”For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life”. The fact that God gave to mankind the very best that he had, His only Son, speaks volumes about love. The Bible is crammed full of reminders about God’s love for us through Jesus Christ His Son.
And what about the cost? We listed all those financial statistics about the cost of Valentine’s Day in the United States. But the price of our salvation has been paid by the very blood Jesus Himself. One cannot place a monetary cost on His sacrifice!
So, during this “month of love” including Valentine’s Day, let’s remember the love of our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus!