I wish to talk to you all about Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s Day is one of those holidays that the average person tends to overlook because no one gets a day off from work or school, so it must not be very important. But, I believe that Valentine’s Day is one of the most important holidays of the year. I don’t believe this because it’s another holiday where I can gorge on chocolate and not feel guilty about it; I believe it because of the message and intent Valentine’s Day has behind it. It’s one of those “just for fun” holidays, like St. Patrick’s Day and should be viewed as such. It is a holiday that gives us the opportunity to tell our friends, family, and significant other that we care for them. Telling someone you love them is an invaluable gift and it can be said without any lavish, expensive presents.

The history behind Valentine’s Day is shrouded in legends and mysteries. According to the History Channel, there are three Saint Valentines and all three were martyred, so who is the real Valentine? One Saint Valentine went behind Rome’s emperor Claudius to marry young soldiers to their loved ones. Others believe that he was helping Christians escape Roman prisons. Somehow Valentine made somebody mad and ended up in prison where he died. While in prison, it is said that he sent the first valentine to a young girl who he fell in love with. He signed it “from your valentine,” which coined the phrase forever in history. Regardless of which Saint Valentine created the holiday of Valentine’s Day, the messages from the legends are all incorporated into the holiday we now celebrate. The act of secretly marrying people against the emperor’s wishes shows that nothing and no one should get in the way of true love. Another message is to value the life of others. And the third message, is to tell the ones you love how you truly feel before it’s too late.

Valentine’s Day has been around since 498 AD, but wasn’t popular until the seventeenth century. Since then, people have been writing and sending Valentine’s Day cards along with gifts, flowers, and candies. It is the second largest holiday for those who make greeting cards, and interestingly enough eighty-five percent of the valentines are purchased by women.

This little tid-bit of information actually suprised me. Eighty-five percent of valentines are purchased by women? That means, out of approximately one billion cards sold for Valentine’s Day, only 150 million are bought by men. Is it that women are the only ones who send valentine’s for their friends and family as well as their loved ones?

I know that men are squeamish when it comes to expressing their feelings. I understand that Valentine’s Day is associated with marriage proposals and gifts of flowers and expensive jewelry. In fact, many people dread Valentine’s Day because they believe that anything they buy or plan for the holiday will be expensive. But, Hallmark has many cards that are only a dollar and you can call somebody long distance for twenty minutes for a dollar if you use that 10-10-220 number. The best gifts in life are free, and if you use a little creative brain power, the sky is the limit as to what you can do to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

I also understand that many people believe that it is a romantic holiday and if you do not have a significant other, it is a holiday to be forever hated and despised. Unfortunately, many of my friends are in that same mindset.

Valentine’s Day is not a day for only romantic couples. It is a romantic day, yes, for those who choose to treat it as such, but for many people it is a day simply to say “I love you.” It doesn’t matter who you say it to; you could send a valentine to your pet goldfish. The point of the holiday is to express your feelings to those you love. Send a card to your parents, your siblings, or your cousins. Send greetings to your friends or a special teacher who helped you along the way. Butter up a boss with a valentine that says “I appreciate you” if you’re looking for a raise. You can have fun with this holiday or use it to your advantage.

As for gifts on Valentine’s, I think it is essential to get those little candy hearts that have the sayings on them. They are so tasty! I also think it is essential to buy some kind of chocolate for yourself, that is, if you like chocolate. The only other thing left is to call the people you love or send them a greeting card that says “I love you” or “I appreciate you” or even “I have no idea why I keep you around, you drive me crazy! Happy Valentine’s Day.” Cards can say a million things, phone calls can say them better. Your parents will get all warm and fuzzy if you give them a call just to say you love them. Your friends will laugh at first, but then later they will thank you. It is a day in which a gesture of your feelings towards another person is cherished and warmly accepted.

For those of you who have significant others, or at least a current “love,” I suggest you add a little romantic twist. For some reason, if you take your girlfriend or wife on a date on Valentine’s Day, it is viewed as extra special. But, don’t buy her jewelry or expensive gifts. Take her to dinner, to a movie, a walk around the park. Give your loved one a romantic card, buy them a flower. How suprised would your boyfriend or husband be if you bought HIM flowers for Valentine’s Day? If you want to go a little over the top you can get a hotel room in the same town you live in just for fun. You can sprinkle rose petals in the bedroom or light a bunch of candles around a bath for two. These are all ways that you can express your love and many of them are inexpensive or even free. But, like I said before, jewelry might be appreciated, but I think most of us women would find it much more suprising and appreciated if you bought us something like that on a random day, like June 24th or May 13th.

I’m sure many of you are thinking that Valentine’s Day is so expensive and you just can’t handle it. Women expect expensive gifts, right? I honestly don’t think so. I would rather have my boyfriend make me a handmade valentine out of construction paper or even notebook paper than buy me some store-bought card. I would rather snuggle in front of the TV watching my favorite “chick-flick” and eating a cardboard pizza than go out to some fancy restaurant and see a Broadway play. The point of Valentine’s Day is to show that you love them through words or actions; the measure of that love is not on a scale of how much you paid for it.

I think everyone should observe and participate in Valentine’s Day. It is a holiday unlike any other. Christmas is for giving gifts; Halloween is for trick-or-treating; Easter is for bunnies and egg hunts; and St. Patrick’s Day is for wearing green. If somebody can get a whole bunch of people to wear green on a specific day in March, drink green beer, eat green cookies, and pinch people who don’t participate, I think we can all sit down on February 14th and call our friends and family to say we love them--just because. It is a holiday that is “just for fun” and that exactly what you should do with it -- have fun. Call your grandma, call your parents, call your cousin Joe who you haven’t spoken to in five years and tell them all that you love them. Get all your friends together and go out to a movie or eat those little candy hearts and laugh at what they say on them. Sit down with your significant other and say “I love you with all my heart, and then some.” Do it for the fun of it, not because it’s expected of you. Say what is in your heart, it is the one day that lets everyone open up their hearts to accept other people in, as well as show others who’s already in there.