Mandy,

My apologies. I didn't intend for you to personalize this. It's really just an aside. I commented elsewhere on your main topic.

I have many thoughts about the influence of capitalism and profiteering on happiness in the modern world; and I often feel (probably irrationally) compelled to call out the most egregious examples. When it comes to certain holidays, these thoughts are based on the purpose of their initial creation and the beneficiaries of their ongoing marketing. However, I do not feel anything one way or the other about Valentine's Day in particular.

With that said, I think it causes a lot of sadness when so many people have these genuine, passionate, but wholly manipulated feelings around "created for profit" holidays.

We would live in a much happier world if we had fewer artificial expectations, both for ourselves and for other people to live up to.