I was planning to write this on Friday, but I took the day off instead. So, here is my rant. Valentine’s Day. I HATE it. I don’t do it. Now before you go thinking I’m some bitter single gal who got her heart broken on February 14th, let me set the record straight: I’ve been with my boyfriend for 4 years (eek!). We have never celebrated Valentine’s Day. I hated it when I was single and I never saw the point when I was in a relationship. The way I see it, why do you need a day to tell the people you love how you feel? Why can’t you say it on March 18th? Or September 27th? You can, and you do. So why do women (yes, it’s generally my gender who is the guilty party) think if they don’t hear it on Valentine’s Day it’s not for real? If anything, I think it means less on Valentine’s Day. That day, the guy is saying it because he feels like he has to say it or else his wife/girlfriend will go hormonal on him and accuse him of not being able to express his feelings. Chill, ladies!

Now, my boyfriend isn’t big on the flowers. That’s ok. Because when I do get flowers, I know it’s because he really wanted to do something nice for me (or he did something really really wrong) and not because society has told him that on Valentine’s Day, he needs to buy me flowers. I don’t need a dozen overpriced red roses and a box of chocolates to be sure of how he feels. And I’m willing to bet that most of you women feel the same way. So why do you do it? Why demand affection for that one day? Why place so much emphasis and so much of your relationship on how he deals with Valentine’s Day? If he’s only nice to you that day, do you really want him around on the 13th or 15th? Want a reason to have a romantic dinner? A sexy bubblebath? Buy lingerie and chocolate? I can think of dozens that are just about my relationship, not how everyone else thinks my relationship should be.

I feel bad that when my boyfriend tells his female co-workers that I don’t like Valentine’s Day and that we don’t do it, they jump down his throat and tell him I really DO want Valentine’s Day and try to make him feel like the worst boyfriend in the world. Ladies? I really don’t want Valentine’s Day. He knows me well; we agree on this, let him be!

Valentine’s Day is a pure consumer “holiday.” I worked at Hallmark for several years and it’s big around there. And you should have seen the number of poor men coming in the evening of Feb 14th terrified to go home without a stuffed bear and a card. Are you kidding me!? Do me a favour- on your way home tonight, count the number of men carrying a bouquet of flowers. Do it again on Wednesday. It’s a fun little game. But odds are that the one guy you see carrying those flowers tonight put a lot more thought into it than all the lemmings buying flowers for three times as much two days later.

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