Todays advert on the Straightdope homepage is for some sort of Valentines party service. “Just in time for Valentines” it says. As the next Valentines day is 346 days away that seems that “Just in time” might be a little wrong.
Is Valentines not Feburary 14th in the USA?
Or is it just a weird ad server?
It’s just an ad server that needs some coffee. Valentine’s (strictly St. Valentine’s Feast) is February 14 in the US same as everywhere else.
Hmmm. Here it’s indeed February 14, which makes it 356 days away. Maybe you and the ad server should get together and sort things out. 
Is St. Valentine still recognized? I thought I read somewhere that he was de-canonized due to lack of evidence that he existed. Somewhere I’ve got an old 1960s vintage guidebook to Rome according to which, back then, every February 14th at the church dedicated to him, they would put his skull on display surrounded by roses. Very much, in fact, like the iconography the Grateful Dead used on so many posters and album covers.
Here in Colombia it is celebrated as “Día del amor y la amistad.” (Day of the love and friendship.) It is celebrated on the second sunday of September.
Whether or not the Catholic church recognizes him has nothing to do with the fact that St. Valentine’s Day (or more commonly Valentine’s Day) is a holiday in the US and many other countries where one gives gifts of flowers, candy, jewelry, etc. to one’s sweetheart.
Maybe they don’t accept the Papist Gregorian Calendar and grabbed back the ten days stolen in 1582 as well as a perfectly good saint. The nest of vipers that is the Whore of Rome kicked out all three Sts Valentine in 1969 [sing-song] just because they didn’t exist [/sing-song], the arrant blasphemers. :mad:
Please. If I were no older than the number of years I’ve been a Doper I would understand the difference between the largely commercial-with-a-substrate-of-romance-and-love holiday, and the religious feast observance. Nava happened to mention the feast day, whch is what got me onto the religious tack.