First what’s it all about?

As much as I am a little cautious about referring to Wikipedia, this seems reasonable enough.

There is no evidence of any link between St. Valentine’s Day and the rites of the ancient Roman festival, despite many claims by many authors.[15][37][notes 1] The celebration of Saint Valentine did not have any romantic connotations until Chaucer’s poetry about “Valentines” in the 14th century.[21] Popular modern sources claim links to unspecified Greco-Roman February holidays alleged to be devoted to fertility and love to St. Valentine’s Day, but prior to Chaucer in the 14th century, there were no links between the Saints named Valentinus and romantic love.[21] Earlier links as described above were focused on sacrifice rather than romantic love. In the ancient Athenian calendar the period between mid-January and mid-February was the month of Gamelion, dedicated to the sacred marriage of Zeus and Hera.

Have the boys been conned here?

I always felt this Valentine’s stuff was a bit of a one way street. I am yet to meet a bloke that said, he’d got a valentine out of the blue from some female – or I am just the unlucky one here?

Surely Valentine’s Day offers the same opportunity (as a leap year supposedly does when a woman can ask a man to marry) for women to impart their feelings of love and kindness. These are the traits associated with the fairer sex – why aren’t all the women out there throwing these Valentines all over the place?

That’s a point. Are you allowed to give more than one a year?

Then again, should all this romantic stuff be left to the confines of the solidly-bound-up-in-a-relationship types, or should it extend all the way down to a; ‘Hey, I’ve been thinking about you in my spare time’?

Regardless of who should be giving a valentine, the commercial world doesn’t appear to geared up to age of equality – it’s all flowers and chocolate out there, isn’t it? Is there a Valentine’s-for-blokes website, and if there is what should be on it?

Guys, do you really want flowers and chocolate arriving at your work site?

Yes, you have a point – it could put some people’s health and safety at risk, if the teasing went a bit too far. Should we just do away with this. OK, guys, national blockade, no more Valentine’s gifts (unless you’re firmly attached of course).

Have we been caught up in another commercial-con, pulling money from our pocket-books through our heartstrings?

Blokes: What do you think about Valentine’s Day?
Ladies: If you’re a woman and have never received a valentine, how do you feel about that? Or if you have, how important are they?
Been there done that: If you’re in a relationship and the valentines stop arriving, is this just normal after you’ve been together a while, or does this mean it’s over already.

Are you a valentine giver, or yeah, nah, just don’t want to go there?

(It’s Saturday the 14th – if you need to know – but I imagine a lot of these random parcels will be delivered on Friday)