By Yasmin Schulten Feb 11, 2007, 8:14 GMT
Washington - Cute little teddy bears with messages like 'be mine', plush angels and tons of heart-shaped candy take over shelves in US supermarkets after Christmas replacing Santa and Frosty the Snowman to vie for customers' attention as gifts on Valentine's Day.
Two-thirds of Americans celebrate Valentine's Day on February 14. Among them is Patricia Santos of Washington who bought some candy and greeting cards for her family a week before the holiday.
'I love Valentine's Day and wish there would be more than one day per year to celebrate this day of love,' she told Deutsche Presse- Agentur dpa.
This year Americans are likely to spend 16.9 billion dollars on gifts for their sweethearts on the only major retail holiday between Christmas and Easter, according to the National Retail Federation.
Of course there is no limit on how to treat loved ones on the special day, but the exchange of greeting cards remains the most popular idea.
After Christmas, Valentine's Day is the second most popular card- sending holiday in the US. According to the Greeting Card Association, Americans are expected to buy about 190 million cards this year.
Maryland native Rudy Lane said he used to write a card for his wife on Valentine's Day every single year of their marriage.
'But now I am too old for this,' he said. 'I think this is something more for young people.'
In the US, not only lovers exchange Valentine's greetings. It is also very common to send cards to family members and friends. Since the 1920s, school children have also shown their appreciation for each other with self-made cards, candy and by attending school parties.
But cards are not the end of the celebrations: Luckily, for those who do not have a clue how to play cupid, countless women's magazines are full of advice on how to impress a loved one.
Recipes for 'cute-as-can-be-cupcakes' decorated with tiny hearts and roses in sweet pink or table decoration tips that promise to light his fire and inspire him to pamper her all night fill countless pages. Of course the magazines promise that everything is made fast and easy and is either low-fat or has few calories.
No matter what gift it may be, the key to all is to think red or pink no matter whether it is Verizon's special edition cell phone called 'strawberry chocolate,' soft slippers for cold feet or a fancy new handbag (of course with a heart pattern) from Nine West.
There is something for every wallet such as the little stuffed animal dog by Hallmark that says 'I woof you' and happily wags his tail for only 4.90 dollars, Godiva's 10-piece temptation truffles collection for 25 dollars or a diamond pendant in white gold from Macy's for 699 dollars.
Something even more extraordinary could be a real fish with pink lips tattooed with the message 'I (heart) U' at a Detroit pet store for 39 to 50 dollars.
Not everyone is caught by the Valentine's spirit. Lonely hearts have their difficulties with this time of the year and join in with other enemies of the holiday.
'Everywhere I go I see hearts and roses and all that stuff. I do not like this at all because I think it is way too exaggerated and has become overwhelmingly commercial,' Sarah Thomson from Virginia complained.
Meanwhile, Tony Sun, who is single, does not care for the commercial side of Valentine's Day and instead plans to have fun at an 'anti-Valentine's-Day-party' in Washington on February 14.
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