The Rotunda

Issue date: 2/10/10 Section: News

Media Credit: Nicole Dales

This Sunday might possibly be the most dreaded day for men and singles alike. That's right; Valentine's Day is this weekend. Men scramble to find a way to show their significant others their love, and singles take the day to reflect on the fact that they are alone.

The day is meant to demonstrate your love. Go into any greeting card store, party store, Wal-Mart, Target, even the seasonal aisle in your grocery store and you will see a huge variety in the merchandise you can (and should, according to retailers) buy for the holiday. The question is, is it actually a holiday?

It has been a long standing argument as to whether or not Valentine's Day is a real holiday or a creation by Hallmark. According to Wikipedia, Valentine's Day is named after several Christian martyrs named Valentine. The two who the day specifically honors is Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terri. The article goes in depth, explaining the history and tradition of the holiday.

It dates way back, and could potentially deliver a persuasive argument. I say potentially because I reckon each reader would interpret the article differently. It does talk about the creation of handmade valentines, which is said to have originated long after the day was created.

Another article on Wikipedia talks about Hallmark holidays and cites Valentine's Day as one of them.

A Hallmark holiday is a holiday created for commercial purposes. The Wikipedia article explains that the holidays are created to pressure society into giving gifts. Men in particular are bombarded with ads for jewelry, chocolates, and flowers and all the other ways they are expected to show the woman they love that she is important.

There has been a movement that has been gaining popularity in recent years. It's called an anti-Valentine's day, and the whole point of the day is to boycott the lovely-dovey holiday. That leaves you with three basic options for how you want to spend the day. You can spend it in happy bliss with your significant other, you can spend the day enjoy the glory of being single and having the ability to do anything, or you can hate on the day.

Generally I find that girls have a much stronger opinion on the subject then guys do. Guys in a relationship seem to follow what their girlfriends say and guys who are single seem to be relieved that they don't have to deal with it. Girls are typically a bit more hard-core. A lot of girls who are single take the day to wallow in their state if singleness and those who are in a relationship can sometimes get a little demanding.

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