by laura hoksbergen

Features Co-Editor

It's that time of the year again - the time when shop windows fill with red hearts and people either hold hands and sigh in front of them or struggle to control their gag reflexes.

Reactions to Valentines Day are varied. Some appreciate the chance to have a day on which to show their affection concretely, others berate the commercial side of things. There may be those who wonder what the whole thing is all about.

The history of Valentine's Day is actually a bit of a mystery. The patron saint of the holiday, St. Valentine himself, does not have enough of a recorded history to confirm how the romantic tradition started.

Some legends say that Valentine married young lovers in secret during third century Rome, when the emperor forbade his soldiers to marry. He was eventually discovered and put to death.

While in jail, he allegedly fell in love with the jailer's daughter and wrote her love letters signed ``from your Valentine.'' Another theory is that Valentine helped Christians escape from the prisons where they had been put by the Romans.

Despite the arguments over its origin, Valentine's Day has become the holiday for expressing romantic love.

``Valentine's Day is God's gift to men,'' said student Stephen Roberts. ``We get ripped on so much for not being thoughtful and expressive of our affection to the women we care about. On Valentine's Day, men have a chance to prove themselves to the ladies.''

``Valentine's day may only be meaningful to lovers,'' agrees student Jack Chang. ``But those lovers should remember to value their partners because he/she is God's great gift to you. It is so difficult to find `another half' of yourself.''

But even those people who have significant others don't necessarily buy into all the red hearts.

``My boyfriend and I don't like to spend money on each other for Valentine's Day because we find it a rather hokey holiday,'' said Jenni Wolthuis.

``This year I suggested that we take a camera, and a roll of film and simply take pictures of us,'' she adds.

The singles on campus plan to celebrate the holiday with friends - eating `conversation hearts' or watching chick flicks.

``Eight single hot girls from Kalsbeek are now making it `Single Awareness Day,''' said Ashley Grube, one of the aforementioned girls.. ``We decided no more sitting around like bums not getting gifts; we are all dressing up and going out.''

```Oh and the gifts - we got that taken care of too. Who says you can't have Secret Cupid instead of Secret Santa!''

Brad Sall, another Calvin student, would be more than happy to cut the holiday off his calendar entirely.

``Valentines Day is committed to completely ravishing relationships,'' he commented. ``My friend and I, together, have had five relationships ruined within 8 days of Valentines Day.''

But despite what people may think of the holiday, or what their plans might be, the fact remains that the 14th is a special day to celebrate those you love.

And you could always choose, as Doh Ah Kim did, to celebrate the holiday in a completely different way.

``I plan to live normally,'' Kim said.