1.Romantic Reminder
"It's nice to sit back and realize, 'Hey, I love her'. True, you should always feel that way about your girlfriend, but I like having a day dedicated to taking it all in."
— Charles Polk, 25, Detroit
2.Exciting Rewards
"I love Valentine's Day! Being able to surprise and excite her and getting rewarded for it afterward — if you know what I mean — makes it one of the best days of the year."
— Malcolm Phillips, 23, Queens, N.Y.
3.Hallmark Holiday?
"It's a silly holiday, but I think it exists because the greeting card/jewelry/confection/flower companies know they can exploit men one day a year and get away with it — because men don't know how to be romantic the other 364 days.
"Then again, I always do something with my girlfriend on Valentine's Day, and we have fun."
—Stephen Wingard, 29, New York City
4.Share the Love
"No matter what level your relationship is at — dating, engaged, married — it's a day other than an anniversary to honor what you share."
— Samuel Smithage, 33, Greensboro, N.C.
5.Release Your Inner Romantic
"For men who are typically unromantic, it's their chance to go for it. But I do romantic things all the time, so it's not a big deal at all."
— Jermaine Small, 25, Atlanta
6.Equal Appreciation Opportunities?
"February 14 has become Women's Appreciation Day. If we create a Men's Appreciation Day, I'd be happy to play along."
— Chris Schonberger, 25, Silver Springs, MD.
7.24/7/365 Romance
"It's kind of shallow to me. Thoughtful gestures needs to be made throughout the year. If you do something on Valentine's Day and nothing the rest of the time, then what's the point?"
— Emil Moss, 26, Columbus, Ohio
8.A Very Refreshing Date
"Unlike a lot of guys, I think it's refreshing, a time when you can stop, reflect and do something nice for someone you care about."
— Eddie Cole, 23, Boligee, Ala.
9.Down with Valentine's Day
"I dislike Valentine's Day. I do it because in the end it's always a good time, but I dislike the idea of being obligated to make reservations, buy something, dress up, etc., on a specific date just because it's a specific date — a date that actually has no meaning to me as a human.
"Anniversaries are different, obviously, because the date has meaning for people."
— Jason Trobman, 26, New York City
10.Cruel Inventions
"V-Day was invented by women to get the men in their lives to ignore the TV for a week — six days to organize it and pull out our hair, one day to pretend we had it planned from the year before."
— Mario Daniels, 25, Brooklyn
"It's nice to sit back and realize, 'Hey, I love her'. True, you should always feel that way about your girlfriend, but I like having a day dedicated to taking it all in."
— Charles Polk, 25, Detroit
2.Exciting Rewards
"I love Valentine's Day! Being able to surprise and excite her and getting rewarded for it afterward — if you know what I mean — makes it one of the best days of the year."
— Malcolm Phillips, 23, Queens, N.Y.
3.Hallmark Holiday?
"It's a silly holiday, but I think it exists because the greeting card/jewelry/confection/flower companies know they can exploit men one day a year and get away with it — because men don't know how to be romantic the other 364 days.
"Then again, I always do something with my girlfriend on Valentine's Day, and we have fun."
—Stephen Wingard, 29, New York City
4.Share the Love
"No matter what level your relationship is at — dating, engaged, married — it's a day other than an anniversary to honor what you share."
— Samuel Smithage, 33, Greensboro, N.C.
5.Release Your Inner Romantic
"For men who are typically unromantic, it's their chance to go for it. But I do romantic things all the time, so it's not a big deal at all."
— Jermaine Small, 25, Atlanta
6.Equal Appreciation Opportunities?
"February 14 has become Women's Appreciation Day. If we create a Men's Appreciation Day, I'd be happy to play along."
— Chris Schonberger, 25, Silver Springs, MD.
7.24/7/365 Romance
"It's kind of shallow to me. Thoughtful gestures needs to be made throughout the year. If you do something on Valentine's Day and nothing the rest of the time, then what's the point?"
— Emil Moss, 26, Columbus, Ohio
8.A Very Refreshing Date
"Unlike a lot of guys, I think it's refreshing, a time when you can stop, reflect and do something nice for someone you care about."
— Eddie Cole, 23, Boligee, Ala.
9.Down with Valentine's Day
"I dislike Valentine's Day. I do it because in the end it's always a good time, but I dislike the idea of being obligated to make reservations, buy something, dress up, etc., on a specific date just because it's a specific date — a date that actually has no meaning to me as a human.
"Anniversaries are different, obviously, because the date has meaning for people."
— Jason Trobman, 26, New York City
10.Cruel Inventions
"V-Day was invented by women to get the men in their lives to ignore the TV for a week — six days to organize it and pull out our hair, one day to pretend we had it planned from the year before."
— Mario Daniels, 25, Brooklyn
