5 Reasons to Celebrate Valentine's Day with Heart

I received an email the other day from a woman who read my article “7 Reasons to Acknowledge Anniversaries”—she requested an article in kind about Valentine’s Day.  Valentine’s Day presents us with a double bind. On the one hand, we are bombarded with advertisements, talk show segments, and subtle (or not so subtle) messages on how important it is to do the right thing by your sweetheart. On the other hand, people push back on the commercial hype and pressure, holding Valentine’s Day responsible for the inevitable disappointment that ensues, claiming it is a “contrived Hallmark” holiday designed to put unrealistic expectations on love and relationships. These individuals tend to rebel, choosing to ignore the holiday all together or do the bare minimum of bringing home some flowers and calling it a day. And then of course, there are those out there who do not currently have a sweetheart, many of which hide out for the 24 hours until all the focus on lovers fades so that they can once again, feel good about being single.

So how do we reconcile all these conflicting feelings about Valentine’s Day? After all, it is supposed to be the holiday of love, not dread. So in honor of those of you that still believe in a day that celebrates love, I’m offering 5 reasons to celebrate Valentine’s Day with. And for those of you that wish this holiday would simply go away and stay away, read on—you just might find a good reason to celebrate come February 14th!

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First a disclaimer—this article is designed to focus on why women want and need their men to step up on Valentine’s Day. I am in no way discounting the importance of demonstrating your love and affection toward your man and you will find this sentiment throughout the article. However, the reality is that women tend to have higher expectations than men when it comes to this holiday. And on Valentine’s Day, it is the man who holds more of the burden in coming through with romance and attention. Fair or not, it simply is what it is. So I’ve chosen to focus more on helping men understand why this day is so important to their women and what is available to them from coming through so that they can have another perspective from which to act. My intention is not to add more pressure—my intention is to provide more motivation to please your sweetheart with less pressure and resentment, and more pleasure and excitement.

In other words, this one is for you ladies…