# Valentines day is evil, the devil's holiday, bad bad bad! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 13, 2003, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valentines-day-is-evil-the-devils-holiday-bad-bad-bad/154861 "2003-02-13T16:52:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valentines-day-is-evil-the-devils-holiday-bad-bad-bad/154861/61 "2003-02-14T20:25:33Z")
You know, after having read this thread, I realise that I must be the most V-Day-clueless person on this earth. Why, you ask? Because yesterday\* I managed to read though this entire thread without once making the connection that the _reason_ for this Valentine’s gripe was _because it was, in fact, already Valentine’s Day_ It took a woman on the tram later that evening saying “Happy Valentine’s Day” to clue me in there. And even then I had to ask her to repeat it twice. Ahhh! Ignorance! \*it’s now 7 saturday morning for me, btw. Just in case anyone’s in a timezone where it’s still V-day and was getting confused… ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valentines-day-is-evil-the-devils-holiday-bad-bad-bad/154861/62 "2003-02-14T20:31:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pravnik \* > \*\*Happy birthday, **Dooku**! \*\* Thanks **pravnik**! I think it’s **Mullinator** ’s Birthday also. I’m celebrating by…being at work. But I am going to Mexico this evening, so… ¡Olé! ---
**Author:** ![kimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f0a364/32.png) [@kimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kimera)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valentines-day-is-evil-the-devils-holiday-bad-bad-bad/154861/63 "2003-02-14T22:00:09Z")
In Japan, girls give chocolate to boys on Valentine’s day. Then, on White day (March 14), the boys give the girls white chocolate. Some people on [www.Fark.com](http://www.Fark.com) suggested a “Steak and Blow Job” Day for males. I vote for something between the two. Since Valentine’s day is typically guys getting girls stuff, there should be a holiday where girls give guys stuff. That being said. I went out and bought candles and bubble bath and we bought food last night. We are going to just have a romantic evening together, as today also happens to be our 7th month ann. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![lezlers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@lezlers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lezlers)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valentines-day-is-evil-the-devils-holiday-bad-bad-bad/154861/64 "2003-02-14T22:47:06Z")
Drumroll please… I GOT ME SOME FLOWERS!! Hell yeah!! After two _years_ of waiting!! And a card that almost made me cry it was so damn sweet!! I don’t care what ya’ll say, Valentines Day is the BEST DAY EVER!!! Yeee-hawwww!!! ---
**Author:** ![xcheopis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bc8723/32.png) [@xcheopis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xcheopis)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valentines-day-is-evil-the-devils-holiday-bad-bad-bad/154861/65 "2003-02-14T23:16:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ava \* > \*\*Since Valentine’s day is typically guys getting girls stuff, there should be a holiday where girls give guys stuff. \*\* Why is Valentine’s Day only about guys getting girls stuff? Before I began boycotting the holiday, I’d cook my boyfriend a really nice meal, or buy him a toy that he’d been eyeing or something else nice. When did this degenerate into a greed fest for the women? It’s supposed to be for **couples** to celebrate their romance, not a female feeding frenzy! Why are boys dating girls who insist on getting Valentine’s Day presents but won’t buy any themselves? ---
**Author:** ![lezlers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@lezlers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lezlers)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valentines-day-is-evil-the-devils-holiday-bad-bad-bad/154861/66 "2003-02-14T23:24:35Z")
I’ve never even heard of only the girls getting presents on Valentines Day. It’s always gone both ways for me and everyone I’ve known for as long as I can remember… ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valentines-day-is-evil-the-devils-holiday-bad-bad-bad/154861/67 "2003-02-14T23:26:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by auntie em \* > \*\*You asked for it, Buddy . . . bend over & spread ‘em, my pillow and I are comin’ in (now, this may hurt a little . . . )! 😛 \*\* :dubious: :o :eek: 🙂 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valentines-day-is-evil-the-devils-holiday-bad-bad-bad/154861/68 "2003-02-15T03:34:29Z")
On Valentine’s Day, my sister-in-law’s father always gave boxes of chocolate to _all_ the women in his life – his wife, his daughter, his granddaughters, his nieces, etc. I remember the first time he gave me a box, although he hardly knew me then. I was really touched at this gesture of welcoming into his family. He died about a year and a half ago. I’ll always think of him on Valentine’s Day. He was a sweet, caring man who went out of his way to let people know he loved them. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valentines-day-is-evil-the-devils-holiday-bad-bad-bad/154861/69 "2003-02-15T06:49:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ava \* > \*\*Some people on [www.Fark.com](http://www.Fark.com) suggested a “Steak and Blow Job” Day for males. > > I vote for something between the two.\*\* What? The udder? ---
**Author:** ![Avarie537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/48db29/32.png) [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valentines-day-is-evil-the-devils-holiday-bad-bad-bad/154861/70 "2003-02-15T17:17:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lezlers \* > \*\*Drumroll please… I GOT ME SOME FLOWERS!! > > Hell yeah!! After two _years_ of waiting!! And a card that almost made me cry it was so damn sweet!! > > I don’t care what ya’ll say, Valentines Day is the BEST DAY EVER!!! > > Yeee-hawwww!!! \*\* Well good for you!!! I came home after being pissy all day to my husband sitting on the couch playing his xbox. No flowers. No big hug and a kiss and a “Happy Valentine’s Day.” (He got me a card but didn’t mention it until, oh, 9:30 or so, when my mood was already COMPLETELY ruined.) So I drank me 3/4 of a bottle of wine. And sat on the couch. Watching him play xbox. Then we had a “nice” long talk about a whole lot of un-romantic things (money, budgets, PAYING ATTENTION TO ME AND WHAT I WANT) before we went to sleep. [font=red]Happy Freakin’ Valentine’s Day To Me. ---
**Author:** ![wdcsmwscaa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbce88/32.png) [@wdcsmwscaa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wdcsmwscaa)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valentines-day-is-evil-the-devils-holiday-bad-bad-bad/154861/71 "2003-02-15T17:53:11Z")
I had quite the lovely un-VD yesterday. 🙂 We watched a little bit of the matrix at his house, then picked up our friend Jess. Had dinner at a sub place, and went to see Daredevil. We got the “value bucket of popcorn”(with refill), and had chocolate ice cream afterwards. We drowned our bitter single sorrows in unsaturated fat, and we loved it! ---
**Author:** ![lezlers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@lezlers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lezlers)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valentines-day-is-evil-the-devils-holiday-bad-bad-bad/154861/72 "2003-02-15T18:00:18Z")
heh. The b/f was actually working last night, but my old roomate was up from L.A. for the weekend (we hadn’t seen each other in a year, since I helped her move down there) so we went to dinner at this awesome little Indian place in S.F and had a grand ol time. Went to my b/f’s afterwards for some good ‘ol fashioned lovin’… ahhhh yeahhhh ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valentines-day-is-evil-the-devils-holiday-bad-bad-bad/154861/73 "2003-02-15T19:54:59Z")
> [@](#): > > Some people on [www.Fark.com](http://www.Fark.com) suggested a “Steak and Blow Job” Day for males. Why should we let Big Business (aka The Man) designate one day out of the year for us to celebrate our love? Why can’t _every_ day be Steak and Blow Job Day? ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valentines-day-is-evil-the-devils-holiday-bad-bad-bad/154861/74 "2003-02-15T20:37:28Z")
I don’t see what’s so freakin’ tough about Valentine’s Day for guys. I buy my wife a card, some candy, some flowers and a little gift. I don’t spend a lot of money on any of them. But she really looks forward to getting them, and that’s part of the fun for her – KNOWING she’ll get 'em and anticipating it. It’s a little thing but she likes it a lot, and it’s not hard to buy that stuff. The key is, don’t worry too much about getting just the RIGHT card or just the RIGHT present. Just something in her range of interests and tastes. That way it doesn’t turn into a fucking ordeal. Valentine’s shouldn’t be an ordeal. If a woman insists that every gift-giving occasion become a searching examination of your understanding of her interests and tastes, fuck her. She’s got no clue about relationships. ---
**Author:** ![furr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7ab992/32.png) [@furr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furr)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2003, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valentines-day-is-evil-the-devils-holiday-bad-bad-bad/154861/75 "2003-02-16T20:13:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Aspidistra \* > \*\*You know, after having read this thread, I realise that I must be the most V-Day-clueless person on this earth. > \*\* no that would be me. my partner and i go out for dinner and a movie every friday night, we have for the years we’ve lived together and we both ignore V-Day as fairly pointless, i know he loves me, he knows i love him, i get flowers every few weeks and we buy each other gifts every pay day. all those things the marketing machine tells people they have to do on the 14th we do all year round. so half way through dinner when the overwhelming sensation of red and soppiness finally worked its way through to our foggy brains we realise what all this unusually high public diplaying of affection around us means. obviously we both live under a rock to have not noticed it for the other 18 hours of the day. ---
**Author:** ![MissGypsy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8491ac/32.png) [@MissGypsy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissGypsy)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2003, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valentines-day-is-evil-the-devils-holiday-bad-bad-bad/154861/76 "2003-02-16T20:41:15Z")
It wasn’t bad. I got him a glass chess set and a '58 die-cast Corvette (he’s a toy collector). He got me 3 pairs of panties and 3 cross-stitch kits. (Great gifts, as far as I’m concerned.) I made him one of my special-occasion dinners, and I forgot to buy him a card. Oops. It sucked less than previous V-Days. And we’ve only been together for a year, almost, so… we’ll figure this out, sooner or later. BTW, he made sure to buy me a V-gift from my son, who is too young to care. And I did the same for my SO. And we both, independently, went to GREAT extent to buy little gifts for the young’un. p.s. Last year’s V-Day, my baby had fairly major surgery. HORRIBLE for me, ok for him. He’s fine, now. This year was MUCH better. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2003, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valentines-day-is-evil-the-devils-holiday-bad-bad-bad/154861/77 "2003-02-17T09:00:07Z")
Count me amongst the people who dislike VD with passion. I positively hate this commercialization of love, and possibly even more the concept of a “mandatory love” day. I can’t think of anything more antithetic. Plus, VD even results in making some people who take it seriously and happen to be alone sad. I never wished a happy VD to anyone, nor of course did anything romantic, gave gifts, etc…on this day. However, it’s my mother’s birthday… ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valentines-day-is-evil-the-devils-holiday-bad-bad-bad/154861/78 "2003-02-18T06:15:07Z")
When I was a sophomore in college, I sent myself a rose on Valentine’s Day. See, there were a **lot** of couples at this school. I don’t mean there was a lot of dating and flirtation: I mean that, within two weeks of the start of the fall semester, everyone (okay, not **everyone** , but a hell of a lot of people) had chosen a partner and settled down to nest. A lot of people who only wanted to be with their partner, no group socializing. A lot of “parties” where I was the only single person, and had to leave after an hour or so when it abruptly turned into a smoochfest, everyone sucking face as if I wasn’t even there. A lot of people talking about How We Can Make This Relationship Better. A lot of senior women flashing rings and issuing invitations during the last month of school. So I went to a local flower shop and ordered a rose to be sent to me on campus. Come V-Day, I open my mailbox and feign surprise and awe. A rose! But…there’s no card? Who could have sent me this lovely thing? Walked around all day holding it and staring at it with an air of dreamy bewilderment. Who gave it to me? “…I don’t know.” Some people speculated about who might have sent it. Some people probably weren’t fooled. But at least I had a fucking rose. I didn’t have anyone’s hand to hold, but I had a rose to hold. And fuck you, Erik Fisher. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valentines-day-is-evil-the-devils-holiday-bad-bad-bad/154861/79 "2003-02-18T12:33:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by clairobscur \* > **Count me amongst the people who dislike VD with passion.** Penicillin is your friend. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valentines-day-is-evil-the-devils-holiday-bad-bad-bad/154861.md?page=3)