Ew, it’s so commercial” is the most common response I can think of when talking to people about V Day… Popular? In the States, maybe. Here in my little green patch of Europe, everyone seems to have told the ”perceived as American” holiday to take a hike… So stylish to be anti-American nowadays that it almost makes a Yank wanna make a stank.

Well, did you know the holiday was named after a Christian martyr named Valentine and established by Pope Gelasius in 496 AD? Considering the United States didn’t exist until 1776, it is NOT AN AMERICAN HOLIDAY. It is the second largest card-sending holiday of the year there, after Christmas. And obviuosly American inspired customs have spread quickly with the advent of globally distributed mass media, but c’mon!!! It is catching on like crazy in the developing world in places like India and China, and if you think about it, that makes perfect sense…

Valentine’s Day commemorates a universal emotion, unlike holidays celebrating specific events or persons or traditions, specific only to one country or region. So even a Seikh or a Buddhist or a Muslim can celebrate it’s overriding meaning, if not its origin… It is the one day of the year that we can dedicate to romance, and if we’re lucky, passion… Which in the end is what makes life worth living, right?!? Valentine’s is a great holiday, and better than most… If the thought is what counts, that is… While Slovenians are free to frown upon it, what is any holiday but a ”fantasy” to some extent? And for the record, how commercial can a holiday on which my girlfriend and I exchanged free electronic cards possibly be?