Who Invented Hallmark (Valentine's) Day?

"Man, my wife is ticked at me. She claims I'm not around enough and she's always wanting me to buy her flowers. She loves chocolate and says I don't compliment her. I'm sick of it. Why does she always have to complain? I mean, I do my job. I bring money home to pay the bills and put food on the table. Isn't that a compliment in and of itself?", said Bubba.

"My wife is the same exact way. It's never enough. I'll even take her to Dairy Queen once in a while and that still isn't good enough for her. What can we do, you know? We work until six, come home, want dinner, and just want to relax.", Jordan replied.

"Hey guys," Lance chimed in, "I know of a way to get your wives to stop complaining and believe me, along with that, all your wildest dreams and fantasies will come true."

Bubba and Jordan simultaneously said, "What? How?"

"Okay," Lance started in on his advice, "This is how you do it. Just pick a day, one day in the year, and make that the special day she's been wanting. If she wanted flowers, get her flowers. If she wanted chocolates, get her chocolates. If she wants compliments, buy her a sappy Hallmark card. If you want to get cute, get a teddy bear, and take her out to dinner. When she receives all this, she'll be all yours, guys! There won't be any complaints! Love will fill the air the rest of the night and for the rest of the week, maybe month, if your wife is really thankful. Trust me guys. It'll work!"

Bubba curiously asked, "Wait. So, what day do you pick? I mean, I can't just look at a calendar and pick out a random day. Her birthday is August 14th."

"Allright, well, make the day six months from then, so you can spread out the celebrations. How about February 14th? It'll hold you over for six months and then you can give her a similar day on August 14th for her birthday. How's that sound?", Lance replied.

Jordan looked deep in thought, scratching his head, and said, "You know Lance, that's a great idea. I think I'm going to do that. February 14th is a great day for it! My wife's birthday is in September, so February is spread out pretty well. We should just make a holiday out of this and spread word around to the males out there. What should we call it?"

Lance responded, "Well, the day is all about buying gifts to try and show our love in order to receive love in return. So, it all revolves around love, in one way or another. Love Day doesn't sound right though."

"Neither do Chocolate Day, Flower Day, or Card Day.", commented Bubba.

"Wait, I got it. I got it. Hallmark Day!", exclaimed Jordan enthusiastically (Hallmark Day, as it was originally called, would later be changed to Valentine's Day).

So, from that day forward, Bubba, Jordan, and Lance were on a mission for all males. They spread word around through gossip, through mail, through fliers, and on February 14th, all would forever be changed. They each got their wives a dozen roses, Russell Stover chocolates, and Hallmark cards that looked sappy. When they and other males arrived home with their gifts, the wives were ecstatic. Some were in absolute shock. The majority cried. All had a smile on their face and what Lance guaranteed to his buddies came true. But, the longer this day became celebrated, the more that was expected.

"What did Lance get you yesterday for Valentine's Day?," asked Chloe', Bubba's wife.

"The same old, same old. He got me a dozen roses, some Russell Stover's chocolates, and some Hallmark card. What'd Bubba and Jordan get the two of you?", responded Julie, Lance's wife.

"Bubba bought me some tickets to the musical, a beautiful bouquet of flowers, and a diamond ring.", Chloe' stated, as she showed off her new ring to her friends.

"Gosh, you are so lucky Chloe'. I only got this cheap necklace and these dull earrings. Nothing much really.", Jordan's wife, Theresa responded.

From that point on, Valentine's Day became nothing more than a bragging party and competition for the ladies and as it always had been, a fallback or reminder day for the males. The day that was to celebrate love became a day to celebrate the love of material things. The holiday became nothing but obligatory buying by the husbands and expecting by the wives.

But, there was one couple that never needed Valentine's Day. Gregory and Lisa had the concept of love down pat without needing any reminders.

"So, what'd you get your wife for Valentine's Day, man?", asked Jerry.

"Nothing really. I made her a card, wrote her a poem, and left work early to have a candlelight dinner ready for her by the time she got home.", responded Gregory.

"Really man? What's wrong with you? My wife would've flipped if I did that. I mean, how much money did you spend on her?", inquired Jerry.

"Well, I bought the food a few days ago. So, if you're just asking what did I buy for her and only her on Valentine's Day and how much money did I spend doing it? Nothing.", Gregory said.

"Geez, what, are you cheap or something? Are you having financial problems?", asked Jerry.

"No, why? Well, anyway, my wife really enjoyed the gifts and we had a splendid evening together.", Greg said, smiling.

"Man, I don't know about you. It's like a given you have to at least buy your wife flowers on Valentine's Day. That's in a rulebook somewhere. I haven't read it, but I'm sure it's there.", retorted Jerry.

"I bought her flowers a couple months ago. I could tell she was having a really bad day and I thought it'd be the perfect time to go out and buy something to cheer her up and let her know I was thinking about her. So, what'd you get for your wife?", asked Gregory.

"Well, I screwed up bad just a couple weeks ago. I didn't follow through with some things I had promised and she was not pleased. We weren't on very good speaking terms, so I had to go out and spoil her. I went out and bought about every greeting card, chocolate, candy, and flower you could imagine.", Jerry replied.

"That was very nice of you. I hope all the gifts were able to cheer her up and get you two talking again.", replied Gregory sincerely.

"Yeah, well, she seemed very happy when I gave her all the gifts, but I have to be honest, our communication still isn't where it should be or where it was.", Jerry stated.

"Go and surprise her sometime. Write her a poem. Do something where you're truly expressing your feelings to her. I mean, those flowers will only last so long, as will those chocolates. The cards are sweet, but those words aren't totally genuine. They're written for you and not by you. Try surprising her sometime in the next couple weeks by opening up to her and truly making her feel that you understand why she's been feeling the way she has, that you'll make up for what you did, and that you love her. Do it. I promise, she'll be ecstatic.", Gregory said confidently.

Two weeks later, on March 1st, Jerry finally took Gregory up on his advice. He came home from work early on a Wednesday afternoon and set everything up. Romantic music was playing. The fireplace was lit. Jerry dimmed the lights down all throughout the house, placed and lit candles all over, and cooked Debbie's favorite meal. When Debbie came home, she was in tears, unsure of what to say, but Gregory knew exactly what to say. He was open and honest with his wife, apologized for his mistakes, asked for forgiveness, said he'd make up for his wrong-doings, and told her how much he loves her. From that point forward, she was all smiles. His previous mistakes were all but forgotten and their love blossomed to a level they never thought possible, similar to that of Gregory and Lisa.