Valentine’s Day is Saturday and once again overpriced flowers, candy and cards surround me. Everywhere I turn, red and pink signs of materialistic love cover billboards and flood advertisements.

It is all just a commercialized false holiday that reminds single people that they’re alone.

There are many theories as to how Valentine’s Day came about. Feb. 14 is known as the beginning of mating season for birds.

There was also a man named Valentine who illegally married soldiers during the third century in the Roman army.  He was eventually sent to be executed because it was illegal for single-male soldiers to be married under the rule of Emperor Claudius II, as he saw it as a distraction from their military duties.

Regardless of its origins, here in the present, singles are undoubtedly alienated by the holiday.

There are ways to avoid this horrible feeling however.

The term “Cuffing Season” refers to hooking up with that special someone starting in  December and staying in the relationship until spring. This way singles don’t have to be alone throughout the depressing holiday season.

This happens because of the cold weather, you stay at home and cuddle until a week after Valentine’s Day. Then it is time for the pseudo relationship to end and get ready for the single life of spring and summer.

Overall, Valentine’s Day is a bull crap excuse for lovers to give appreciation one day out of the whole year when, especially for those in relationships, this should be done every day of the year.

Every year I try to carry on a self-started tradition to throw a celebration for singles. I do it so we can all appreciate the love that we have for ourselves. I like to call it the “I hate Valentines Day” party.

We play fun games, win cool prizes and eat good food, and why not?  Everyone deserves to be happy on Feb. 14 and not be made to feel inadequate because they are single. Nobody should be judged by the amount of gifts or attention they receive from one another.

We should ban this day for all adults and just save it for the innocence of children. Let them have their traditional Valentine’s Day cards and candy grams to hand out to each other during class. At that time in their lives no kids are singled out and everyone is happy to feel appreciated by each other.

I can honestly say I’ve never had a Valentine and I can’t see myself ever celebrating Valentine’s Day if I was in a relationship.

It would be fun to go out to dinner with someone special on Valentine’s Day. But the price gouging and cramped seating makes the night not worth the trouble.

The holiday is a $16 billion business day celebrated by more than half of the U.S. population. Because of the lack of religious ties to the holiday, it’s open season for advertisers to target people across all demographic groups.

More at home, pregnancy tests and condoms are sold during the festivities proving the effectiveness of the campaign to manipulate people into spending in the name of love.

Another tradition in my rebellion against Valentine’s Day is the annual dinner I have with my mother,  who happens to be single as well.

For the singles out there, I encourage you all to take Valentine’s Day as an opportunity to spend it with your loved ones.