V-Day or D-Day?

Expensive gifts hidden in secret places, dinners for two, candle-covered bedrooms, rose petals on floors, chocolates in heart-shaped boxes: all the things that should get you in the mood for the most romantic holiday around. Valentine’s Day.

Anybody else still waiting for the warm and fuzzies?

Valentine’s Day is not a day for love or romance, it is a day for spending entirely too much money.

Every year on Feb. 14, couples are pressured into showing how much they care by spending money on each other. They must make plans, buy gifts, be extra sweet and sentimental. But where exactly is all this motivation coming from?

Turn the TV on in January or February and you will find the answer.

Hallmark advertises their cards, balloons and stuffed animals. Jewelers promote their special rings, lockets and tennis bracelets. Television networks even dedicate many primetime shows and movies to the day.

It seems quite silly that normal, sane people would suddenly allow corporations to influence them to into putting so much emphasis on one day.

Or maybe this is the incorrect way to approach the holiday.

Maybe people actually do feel Valentine’s is more romantic. Maybe they feel it’s so special they have to spoil their loved ones. Maybe they realize they take each other for granted the rest of the year, so they make up for it on Feb. 14.

If this is case, V-Day does not seem as horrible. But the fact of the matter is, people should not be waiting until then to make their loved ones feel important, it should be happening year-round.

A coworker told the story of her relationship.

She and her boyfriend were dating for eight months when Valentine’s Day rolled around, and things had started out strong. The first few months could definitely be labeled as the “honeymoon period:” no arguments, just bliss. The following three months saw minor disagreements, but nothing too serious.

However, by month six, he began to ignore her phone calls, miss dinner plans, and he even forgot her birthday. She became so fed up with him that she was ready to end their one-sided relationship. Then he Valentine’s Day-ed her.

He showed up at her job with flowers and a little jewelry box. He had a card that said how much he loved and appreciated her, and that he had “something special” planned for the evening. His “something special” turned out to be less than spectacular, but she was blinded by the glow of Valentine’s Day, so she played right into his game. She felt so special that she forgot about the months of mistreatment and fell into the glamour of his gesture. Unfortunately, the very next day the glamour faded and he was back to taking her for granted. Over the next couple of days she tried getting the romantic boyfriend back, but it seemed he was gone for good so she eventually broke up with him.

Valentine’s Day is the day of love, but does that mean people do not have to say “I love you” any other day of the year? Should husbands only surprise their wives with gifts once a year? Are candlelight dinners planned by girlfriends exclusive to Valentine’s Day?

The obvious answer to these questions is no, but sadly that is not always the case because too many people use this holiday as a way to redeem themselves for 364 other days of neglect.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could go back to the days of elementary school when we would bring a generic card and a piece of candy for everyone in class on Valentine's? There was no pressure of impressing one another, it was just an innocent gesture between friends.

Man, those were the days.