Valentines Day - legit holiday or corporate ploy?

With work picking up and an intro photography class that I just started, not to mention fighting off general laziness, taking time to write and post something has been tough.  However, I was suddenly inspired after seeing a lot of ads and blog posts about Valentine's Day, mostly pertaining to gifts, DIY ideas, and general musings.

I've never really been one to take Valentine's Day very seriously.  When I was younger, I bought the typical supermarket Looney Tunes/Alvin and the Chipmunks cards and passed them out to my classmates along with sweets marked "secret admirer" for the boys you had a crush on.  The chalky taste of those little pastel-colored heart candies always transports me back to my elementary school days.  I still get sad upon hearing about the unpopular/socially awkward kids who only received a few cards. 

Anyways, flash forward to the teenage and adult years, and I honestly can only remember a handful of times (mostly during my 20's) actually going out to celebrate.  Each time was marked by annoying waits at restaurants despite a reservation, bad service, and mediocre/expensive food.  The husband and I decided to cook a nice meal at home on the actual day instead of venturing out, and it's worked really well for the past 3 years. 

So maybe it's just me being a buzzkill, but I find Valentine's Day to be a bit overhyped.  Sure, it's nice to go out to dinner, receive flowers and chocolate, and celebrate with your significant other, but how's that day different from any other day?  Can't you do the same thing on an anniversary, birthday, or even just a plain old regular day of the week?  I mean, don't get me wrong, I won't turn down any of these things when I do receive them, but I won't be devastated if my husband doesn't come home on February 14th with an armful of roses marked up 500% to take me to dinner where the food tastes like something from a mediocre wedding. 

I know the above rant makes me sound like a big grouch (maybe it's because I'm hungry)...but I think I'll be content staying in and watching a DVD that night :)