I've never had a boyfriend on Valentine's Day. I mean, I've never actually had a boyfriend ever, but that's a story for another time. Point is, I've never felt like I was missing out.

And that's the problem, because most people do feel like they're missing out if they don't have a significant other, and they don't even realize that this holiday has been stolen from us and warped into some commercialized nonsense propagating the importance of romantic love above all other forms.

Don't misunderstand me: I have nothing against romantic love. As a daughter of Christ, I think marriage and romance are beautiful representations of the relationship we have with Jesus. But it's still not the most important type of love.

As a society, we tend to prioritize romantic love over friendship or familial relationships. You can see it in the things we produce. There are all sorts of apps and websites dedicated to finding a significant other, and most movies and TV shows feature some kind of romantic subplot (if it's not already the focus of the entire film). Viewers go so far as to assert that any bond between characters must be romantic and/or sexual. People aren’t allowed to be just friends, because friendships aren’t as highly valued in our society.

I'm part of the problem.

The other day, my friend and I were talking about a TV series idea she's working on. She realized that she hadn't thought of putting any of her characters into relationships and probably should, and I heartily agreed with her, saying she not only should, but must; people would only watch a show if there's romance.

It's a little bit stupid and completely unfair. Not only does this mindset erase asexuals, but it reinforces the idea that romantic love is the end-all, be-all in our culture. Maybe it's because we're more individualistic and less community-oriented than other cultures, or maybe it's something else, or a combination of a lot of somethings. Whatever the reason, we have our priorities twisted—and it's affected the way we celebrate Valentine's Day.

Originally, Valentine's Day was instituted because of the death of a man named St. Valentine. No one is sure of the real reason behind his death as there are multiple tales out there: he refused to renounce his Christian faith, he refused to sacrifice to pagan idols, he performed marriage ceremonies when the emperor at the time outlawed marriage so his soldiers would be without wife or family, etc. No matter the start, they all ended in his imprisonment and martyrdom.

Before he died, he sent a letter to the jailer's once-blind daughter, whom he had prayed over for her sight to be restored, and signed it "Your Valentine" (hence Valentine's Day cards, y'all).

Though St. Valentine died in the third century, the holiday wasn't instituted until the fifth century by Pope Gelasius. Normally during that time, the drunk and naked Romans would celebrate the festival of Lupercalia by sacrificing goats and whipping women with the goat hides for fertility's sake. Gelasius then created St. Valentine's day to honor his martyrdom instead of celebrating this Roman feast. Sometime in the Middle Ages, the holiday became about romance again.

Valentine's Day wasn't always about sending flowers, cards and chocolates or going out to a fancy dinner; it wasn't always about celebrating romantic love. At its heart, the holiday is to honor a man for the love he had for his church family and for God.

So, singles, rest assured that there’s nothing you’re missing by not having a significant other on Valentine’s Day. This holiday is meant to celebrate all forms of love—friendship, familial relationships (including that with sisters, brothers, parents, grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, etc.), the bond in the church family, romantic relationships—and there’s not a single one that’s of more or lesser value than another.

If you don’t have an S.O., then go celebrate with someone else you care about. Leslie Knope created Galentine’s Day for a reason.