It is impossible to escape Valentine’s Day these days. Even if you have no idea when it is (February 14th!) the shops are sure to remind 1 weeks in advance. In fact, once Christmas and New Year are over it is the next big date on the calendar for shops and restaurants to take advantage of. And after Christmas, it is the day of the year when the second greatest amount 2 money is spent on cards and presents. But is it just consumerism gone mad? Or is Valentine’s Day a romantic tradition we should enjoy celebrating? The origins of Valentine’s Day are 3 clear and there are different versions of who the original Saint Valentine 4 and what he did to become the Patron Saint of love and romance. However, whatever the origins, it seems that now throughout the world there are many different customs and traditions 5 have been practised for hundreds of years. The most typical tradition is to send a card or give flowers or chocolates to the person you are in a romantic relationship 6 It might be true that in various surveys and questionnaires the majority of people say that they do not believe in celebrating Saint Valentine’s Day but the reality is that sales of flowers, chocolates and other gifts go up significantly around the middle of February and there are more and 7 e-cards being sent each year for Valentine’s Day. So perhaps we are really all 8 more romantic than we like to admit.