Death to consumer driven Hallmark holidays!

Another day has come full of high hopes and high expectations for millions of women everywhere. At the same time another day has come full of disappointment, guilty feelings and unmet obligations for millions of men. My problem with Valentines Day is it's a consumer driven holiday. It's an economic stabilizer. How convenient that day in February falls in the first quarter of the year. It's a way to increase consumer spending in the first quarter of the year and every year millions of dollars are spent on a "Hallmark Holiday".

Valentines Day cards, little candy hearts, roses, flowers, overstuffed giant teddy bears and other stuffed animals...all ways to tell that special someone that they're special. All ways to keep the economy going during the first quarter of every year. And every year it's relied upon.

What I don't like about this day is millions of women will have high expectations from their significant other. While an average man will feel obligated on this day to buy SOMETHING even if it's just a tiny stuffed animal, more than likely the gift receiver will have expected something bigger, or more extravagant. In my experiences, it's pretty damn hard to meet that expectation every year and every year it seems that expectation goes up.

At the same time for millions of men and women who JUST started dating, this day could serve as a jump start or a boost to that relationship. This day could also be valuable to millions of couples who have rocky relationships, it could be the make it or break it point for some relationships. For millions of others however it feels more like an obligatory day of giving and as an economics major I can't help but think of it as nothing more than a consumer driven economic stabilizer.