Every end of January spells doom to the love birds that still treasure the red colored day in sole preparation and imagination of how special that year’s Valentine’s Day ought to be compared to the previous ones.

Just a few weeks to the love day yet the mood is already being beefed up, recently I was at the saloon when my fellow clients begun the discussion. Miriam couldn’t miss to express how her valentine’s days are always treated as big event. How her boyfriend a graduate at a renown university in the capital city, knows just how to do it and in the best and most unique way, the banquet of flowers with an attached love card that are delivered at her office, lunch date later in the day, the presents and most importantly is the bars of chocolate and wine that grace the occasion.

While at it, Susan who sounded to be less amused by Miriam’s story, unfolded what she called a ‘don’t miss day’. To her, valentine was a day to catch up with your love and discuss the things you loved about him/her in the previous year and what you would love him/her to change and improve on. Take your time alone, go far away from the usual surrounding and engage on unique activities like boat riding, horse racing, wild zoo visit, shooting of birds and many more.

According to Susan it’s a day to make a difference in your marriage, courtship or relationship for that matter and a time improve on what there is, different from Miriam who only sees the lavish part of the day, the glamour in dress code, food and drinks.

Valentine’s Day on many occasions is the one special day of the year that means the world to the female species apart from their birthday and other celebrated occasions, but on the other hand it’s a disadvantageous occasion to the men who sponsor the celebration. 

The lady’s focus goes to upgrading her wardrobe to come up with matching red dress, red shoes, red belt, a hand bag of the same color, matching jewelry: the earrings, bangles, bracelets, necklace and anklet, down to the inner costumes.

While the men, start calculating their savings and just how much their February salary has to be saved for the latter.

Recently, my friend Sam shared with me his predicament that valentine blues brings. He even vowed to fake an excuse of sickness so that they would stay in the house with his girlfriend on that day. He was surprised that as early as the New Year eve, his girlfriend had already started giving suggestions on the different unique points they should visit when the love day comes.

All Sam could think of was how broke the previous year’s day had drained him, all in the hope of saving a relationship and impressing the newly met partner so that she would rate him as the best.

As the day approaches, a lady will clear everything out of her list to keep the day free of appointments and official duty and sit back waiting for the big surprise. As the man will drain himself broke in purchasing the presents for the love of his life, for those who had a bad start of the month, it means lending cash from close friends to meet the expectations of the day.

It’s worse for the lovers who met recently, as they still have to impress each other and the man will go out of his way to hit a bar that is extremely above average lest he risks being dumped for being below standard compared to the previous dates, as the lady seeks to impress his new date by her dressing type and choice.

Preparations for the day are not just a responsibility of the lovebirds, it also creates a job opportunity for the flower sellers who take their time to shop for the required accessories to make the best artificial replica of flowers while others go ahead to pick real flowers that are then mixed up to a rhyming banquet.

A day to the D-day most flower shops run out of flowers a sign of just how much people are in love, talk of the booked restaurants and lodges, the already decorated parlors, the dress shops well stocked with red dresses, shirts, bow ties, shoes, stockings and many more.

Its big business for creative writers who can come up with love messages to be sent to the love partners. To many it’s a day to spoil yourself, your love and to show off the feelings the feelings you have to the world.

But just as we all seek to celebrate this day, what is the exact origin of Valentine’s Day? One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men that he termed as his crop of potential soldiers.

Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he to be put to death.

Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured.

According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first "valentine" greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl who may have been his jailor's daughter, who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed "From your Valentine," an expression that is still in use today.