Valentine's Day

It's almost here, Valentine's Day. Squeezed in between ML King day, the inauguration and President's Day, it's still getting a lot of retail attention.

I can't blame the stores or the manufacturers, it's all of us who perpetuate this by buying into it. Yes, if Hallmark didn't sell any extra cards and Godiva's profits dropped in February, it would all go away. But, it's here, on store windows, in every aisle of the supermarket. The other day, a cashier at the pharmacy had her fingernails painted in alternating shades of white, pink and red.

For me, romance should be spontaneous, it shouldn't be programmed into the calendar. Luckily this year, Valentine's Day is on a Saturday, so the restaurants will be packed. I think their business is down due to the economy.

But, it's expensive, fattening and not fun! It's even stressful for children. I remember when I was in grammar school, we had to give a valentine to everyone in the class. We made little envelopes and pasted them on the front of our desks and then the other kids came around and dropped the cards into each other's envelopes. The only excitement came if someone wrote a nice note or enclosed a couple of those awful, chalky hearts with sayings stamped into them.

I have no idea what happens in Paris at Valentine's Day, but I'm sure it's like Halloween. It's probably a little smaller in scope, but growing. The cards you can buy at Monoprix are all Hallmark brand cards. And, since it truly is a "Hallmark Holiday" (meaning created to sell things), then, I'm sure there is some extra things to buy for this occasion.