Why February 14th? Why not the 2nd Friday in February?

Whether you're single or not, I have a proposal for Valentine's Day to make it better.

This Valentine's Day has been nice because it's on a Saturday. I can actually spend time with my wife.

If I were single, I would also have the day off to enjoy whatever I'd like to enjoy as a single.

So why set this holiday, mainly for selling greeting cards (see the quote at the end), on a fixed date that can sometimes land on a Wednesday night? Where's the romance or even use in that?

I hereby propose that Valentine's Day be set to the second Friday in February, giving romantically involved couples or singles the chance to enjoy a long weekend, starting off with a date of choice on Friday PM.

Come on, this would be good for couples, singles, AND the economy. Instead, in two years I'll be back to celebrating V-Day on some stupid school night where I'll either have class or work in the morning.

Bah.

Related, one of my favorite remarks about Valentine's Day comes from Jim Carrey in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. In it, he says....

Random thoughts for Valentine's day, 2004. Today is a holiday invented by greeting card companies to make people feel like crap.