Stress and Valentine’s Day definitely go hand in hand. According to a 2010 survey published by Cosmopolitan UK, more than half of women would dump their boyfriends if they did not receive a present on Valentine’s Day.

Now, this could be a retail industry-sponsored survey, publicized in order to make the month of February a bit more profitable, but regardless, there’s something sad about how one day could potentially make or break a relationship.

Originally a Christian martyr, St. Valentine married people in secrecy on Feb. 14, a day that came to be known as Valentine’s Day. During that time period, the former Roman emperor had outlawed marriage for young men, as he did not want to lose his crop of potential soldiers. St. Valentine continued to unlawfully marry couples, and was eventually sentenced to death.

Since that time, Valentine’s Day has become an occasion exploited by Hallmark in order to increase sales during the lull between the rush of Black Friday and the Easter/Mother’s Day flowerpalooza.

On one end of the spectrum, there are the people who love Valentine’s Day. They wait in anticipation to see what their significant other will do for them to honor the once-sacred date of Feb. 14.

The fans typically include women; in particular, women with significant others who know their “someone special” will use Valentine’s Day as an excuse to shower them with trivial gifts like chocolates, baby cherubs and undergarments. Others who tend to be fans of V-Day: cheating, wrong–doing participants in relationships who hope to obtain forgiveness through cheesy notes and candy.

In regards to the latter, it seems a bit wrong that someone can so severely damage a relationship and then cure everything with a bouquet of cheap carnations and a teddy bear. With Valentine’s Day as a “get out of jail free card,” it’s no longer profoundly romantic, but rather a holiday that enables one to mess up the other 364 days of the year.

And of course at the opposite end of the spectrum, there are those who subscribe to anti-Valentine’s Day.

Such people typically include those who have recently been dumped or people in relationships who find one specific day of “romance” to be pointless and unnecessarily filled with pressure.

Valentine’s Day is supposed to give one a chance to show a crush, spouse, girlfriend, boyfriend, etc. how much you care. Why do people feel the need to wait for February to roll around to demonstrate their affection for that special someone?

For those who adore Valentine’s Day, it is likely a good idea to converse about expectations. Often, horrible Valentine’s Days are due to lack of communication between couples. A well-planned romantic dinner and a dozen roses could be met with a box of Necco candy hearts: usually not a good thing.

As cheesy as it may sound, life is what you do on a day-to-day basis. So, on a day-to-day basis, if you like someone, show them. Show them every day. (Note: if they don’t reciprocate after a while, you should stop, because that’s creepy.)

Don’t let a greeting card company dictate when you spend your money, or how you spend it. Be spontaneous. If you get dumped for not adequately honoring your Valentine, that sucks; but, let’s be real here, chances are they are superficial calendar-holiday-abiding romantics that would not know true romance if it followed them around dressed as Barney.

Even though Valentine’s Day is not the biggest deal in the world, and it is primarily a holiday targeted at consumers, a little effort never hurt anyone.

A bit of a gender stereotyping here. Ladies: don’t be disappointed when your guy doesn’t meet your every expectation. He may not even remember the significance of Feb. 14 at all. Gentlemen: if you’re in a relationship, try to remember Valentine’s Day. Assuming you don’t forget, do something to commemorate this pointless time and money drain. Spend 10 bucks at the drugstore. It’s the thought that counts. (Kind of.)

And if Valentine’s Day just really isn’t your thing, or you get sick every year on Feb. 14, or it’s the memorial of your dog’s death or something, keep in mind: CVS does sell over-sized stuffed animals year round.