There is no escape.

There are heart-shaped donuts at the bakery, huge heart-shaped lollipops lurking in the delicatessen, heart-shaped noodles in the supermarket, advertising emails peppered with little hearts end up in my inbox, and I'd rather not even start with the flower shop.

In any case, the dictate is clear: I can only prove that I really love my partner with a gift next Monday.

Then it's Valentine's Day, the day of love - or as I call it: the day of pink waste of money.

So I put my blinkers on, buy what I need and leave the store as quickly as possible with no heart-shaped knick-knacks in my luggage.

Julia Anton

Editor in the society department at FAZ.NET

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Don't get me wrong, I love the idea behind a day of love.

Consciously taking a day or an evening together in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, dressing up for each other and not discussing the shopping list for the weekend over dinner - sometimes a reminder is not wrong for that.

In our society, however, Valentine's Day has little to do with it; instead, for many it has become a compulsive event that offers more potential for disappointment than Christmas and New Year's Eve together: You have to eat out, even though many restaurants charge the prices for their Valentine's Day menu felt like we've doubled, and no matter what the hell it has to be a present, it doesn't really matter, the main thing is that it's pink,

heart shaped or otherwise labeled romantic.

The fact that I had neither space nor use for the huge teddy bear I was given for Valentine's Day when I was 18 – it doesn't matter.

It's not entirely clear why we celebrate Valentine's Day.

People like to refer to Saint Valentine, a martyr who, according to legend, is said to have rebelled against Emperor Claudius II by illegally marrying young couples according to Christian ceremonies.

There are also tales according to which the priest sentenced to death gave a flower to a blind girl, after which she could see again.

The power-political explanation is far less romantic: According to pagan customs, February 14 was celebrated in ancient Rome in honor of the goddess Juno - the Catholic Church is said to have made Valentine's Day out of it.

Annoying compulsory exercise instead of romantic freestyle

Whatever it is that has made people celebrate this day for many centuries: Commerce has long since pushed it aside.

Nothing seems to monetize as well as our need for love and security - in this country alone, one billion euros could be spent on Valentine's Day in 2020, as reported by the German Trade Association.

And the trend is still upwards rather than downwards: according to a survey, eleven percent want to invest even more in their presents in the future, only five percent want to focus on smaller bouquets.

The growing equality is hardly a consolation, since 44 percent of gifts are now bought by women.

Now, small gifts are nice in relationships, we feel valued when someone thinks about what he or she can do to make us happy.

But not when you're expecting them anyway, like on Valentine's Day.

Then the gift is more of a chore than a romantic freestyle, and you end up at the gas station in a panic to grab the last, slightly withered bouquet instead of cuddling up romantically on the couch.

This is how the day of love should look like?

After a few years of hanging out with girlfriends, depressed at first because Valentine's Day also gives singles a whole day to feel like a bug in the system, and later opening a collection of nonsensical Valentine's Day gifts, I've given the day a new label : overestimated.

I let him pass by, avoid Herzen and prefer to cook at home in the evenings.

Gladly with a partner if he has time, and relaxed without if not.

And definitely without gifts.

Because they are not a guarantee for the preservation of love anyway: the relationship with the teddy bearer finally broke up again.

I then gave the stuffed animal away via an online platform: to an animal shelter.

Puppies feel well protected by the stuffed animals - a thought that I actually find a bit romantic.