Valentine's Day: Sweet for Some, Bitter for Others

The air is filled with the aroma of chocolates, flowers and candy hearts. There's red and pink everywhere. Jewelry store advertisements inundate television, radio and print. Yes, it's February, which means Valentine's Day is almost here.

Valentine's Day can be a wonderful time if you're with someone you love, sharing the joy and happiness your togetherness brings. On the other hand, if you're alone, Valentine's Day can be annoying, irritating and downright saddening.

So, for all the lonely hearts out there, this one is for you.

Valentine's Day is a manufactured, worthless and pointless holiday. It shouldn't even be called a holiday. The word "holiday" is usually defined as a day taken off or set aside for leisure and enjoyment, when somebody is exempt from work or normal activity, or as a day set aside by law or statute as exempt from regular labor or business activities, usually to celebrate or commemorate something that happened on or near that date.

First of all, I'll be at work on Valentine's Day, as will the rest of the work force. Second, there's not much leisure or enjoyment if you're sitting at home feeling lonely. Finally, no history is celebrated or commemorated on February 14 (more on that later).

Traditionally, Valentine's Day is meant to be a day to shower your beloved with attention and affection - seemingly something you should be doing every day if you truly love this person, but I digress. These days, Valentine's Day is a day where gifts are assumed, if not expected, not a day to pleasantly surprise the one you adore with a token of your love.

Generally, couples don't give each other Valentine's gifts just because they love each other; they do it because society says they're supposed to.