I hate Valentine’s Day.

I know it’s a phrase you hear every year from the bitter and cynical, but let’s be serious: a day designated for love?

Nothing could be more unromantic.

I should start off by saying that I am neither bitter nor cynical. I’m actually a big fan of love: butterflies in my stomach, goofy smile plastered across my face, moony-eyed whenever he looks my way - it’s all great.

But a commercialized day to remind us of all this is just unnecessary.

Forget those lucky enough to be in love for a second. Valentine’s Day is like a big, red and white, cupid-covered, candy-coated kick in the face to those who aren’t.

From the day the Christmas tree comes down, those token displays of hearts and flowers seem to take over the retail world.

Even going to the drugstore for toothpaste, we’re bombarded with reminders of that upcoming day on which we’re expected to celebrate love by spending money.

According to the Retail Council of Canada, the average Ontarian spends $116 per person on Valentine’s gifts.

$116. Sure, everyone loves getting gifts. It’s a sweet, romantic way to let someone know you’re thinking of them. But giving a gift just for the sake of giving it doesn’t mean anything. And a gift on Valentine’s Day isn’t thoughtful, it’s an obligation.

Disagree if you will, but every year it seems, a different friend comes to me, whining that her boyfriend didn’t get her a valentine - after, of course, she made him promise not to. It’s just one of those things she’s come to expect, and she takes its absence on this particular day as an offence.

Love is intangible. It’s not something you can put a price tag on. But just like that, it’s tainted with greed.

Love doesn’t need proof. It doesn’t need material evidence or a day to commemorate it. It’s something that exists all year and shouldn’t be cheapened to a single day.

Cupid, it’s time to retire.