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    Why Celebrate Valentine’s Day?

    According to the market research firm IBIS World, Valentine’s Day sales reached $17.6 billion last year, 2014, and this year’s sales are expected to exceed that figure. February 14 has catapulted into a lucrative opportunity for the sales community. Tangled up in the legends and history of this holiday is a remarkable story. The legend: Saint Valentine was a Roman Priest at the time of the rule of Emperor Claudius- a persecutor of the church. Valentine lived and ministered against the backdrop of a very permissive society where there were no boundaries or strict codes morally. Polygamy would have been more popular than one man and one woman in a…

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    A Single Girl’s Revolt Against the Day of Love

    Many cultures and countries consider a woman over the age of 30 to be an “old maid” (in Spanish: solterona). So at the age of 34, I was definitely past my prime according to many. I disliked Valentine’s Day. Too many past disappointments and brokenhearted moments meant I just tried to survive until February 15. (Para español, lea abajo.) I ignored the flowers on my female coworkers’ desks. I ignored the male coworkers’ conversations about dinner plans. I ignored the heart-shaped cookies sold at bakeries. I ignored the stuffed teddy bears and candy boxes at grocery stores. I viewed Valentine’s Day as “The-Survival-of-the-Fittest” Day and I used various tactics throughout…