The Smart Divorce® Weblog

What’s the true meaning of Valentines Day? While today it appears to represent a day of love and romance, according to folklore, it actually originated with Roman Christians who were martyred during the third century A.D.; three of whom were saints named Valentine. It’s fascinating how the day, February 14, evolved from being one of honoring martyrs to becoming a day associated with romantic love and turning into a significant commercial success enjoyed by many retailers!

So, while Valentines Day is associated with romance, flowers, cards and chocolate, it’s not a statutory holiday; you don’t get the day off and you don’t have to celebrate if you don’t want to. Then, what do you do if you find yourself dateless with no one to send a special Valentine greeting? The answer is easy, you could:

• Skip the holiday all together. Ignore it and treat it like another regular day.
• Use it as an excuse to buy yourself a beautiful bouquet of flowers, box of chocolates or bottle of champagne.
• Celebrate it with your children and surprise them with chocolate goodies that you don’t usually let them have.
• Have some friends over and indulge in a decadent chocolate fondue party.
• Do a good deed. This will make you feel good and someone else too.
• Celebrate love, and love yourself. Do something special for yourself.

To cap it off, many couples I know don’t celebrate it either. The truth is, if it doesn’t make you comfortable, you don’t have to play!