February is a rather a bland month. Being it’s the shortest month of the year, it’s natural that we would search for something that would keep the month memorable, and we found that something in the celebration Valentine’s Day. A date that supposedly celebrates love, relationships, and gives people who have someone special in their lives a day of their own.

Valentine’s Day was originally instituted to honor Saint Valentine, who performed weddings for soldiers during Roman times. The holiday was originally celebrated on June 12 and wasn’t associated with flowers or chocolates until the height of the 18th century. Today, Valentine’s Day remains a holiday that is notorious for all sorts of razzmatazz specifically designed to squeeze money out of unsuspecting couples.

Now, this is all well and good, but when you take a step back, what we’re celebrating doesn’t really make sense. We’re celebrating love, but the way we do so hardly reflects that. Do we really need a specific day to tell people how much they mean to us? If the point of the holiday is to honor St. Valentine, then it’s not necessary to have a full-blown commercial holiday revolving around it.

It’s exactly that commercial aspect of Valentine’s Day that make Hallmark and assorted candy companies extremely rich. From the time I was in kindergarten through eighth grade I received more candy from “Valentines” than on Halloween, a holiday that is literally dedicated to candy and sweets. Every store seems to have a special section dedicated to cards to give to your special someone on Valentine’s Day. Hallmark makes a fortune on cards that are sometimes as simple as saying “be mine.” Hell, I’m a mediocre writer and I could make a career writing for Hallmark. But it gets worse. It is almost a requirement for the season of love to contain chocolates, which come in exceedingly bizarre and gross flavors. I don’t like to generalize, but I don’t think anyone is interested in eating chocolate with mint, caramel, and raspberry all in one bite.

To top off all of these extravagant and unnecessary things, it’s expected that we purchase material items as a symbol of our love. Call me crazy, but I think it’s more emotionally valuable when a person doesn’t need a special day to show their appreciation for a significant other. Appreciation can look something like getting a spontaneous ten-Mississippi hug, a deep conversation, or maybe a handmade card; these express love in a better way than a three dollar card and a box of Godiva chocolates. Right now, it just seems as if Valentine’s Day is a day for people who forget something that should be special all year round.

Whatever your plans on Valentine’s Day are, whether they include going to a cheesy movie, hanging out with friends, doing nothing, or spending time with that special someone, I encourage you to think about the things that matter more than a cleverly-worded card or caramel-filled chocolate. This year, focus on what matters, and then you’re doing something actually worth celebrating.