The truth about Valentine's Day.....should it really exist??

The history of St Valentine's Day, from its pre-Christian origins, involving nudity and whipping, to its present incarnation as a commercialized free-for-all driving huge sales of chocolate, flowers and jewelry.  In ancient Rome, 13, 14 and 15 February were celebrated as Lupercalia, a pagan fertility festival where young men would sacrifice an animal and use the animal's skin to make whips to spank the backsides of young women in order to improve their fertility.  How the "holiday" made it from here to what it is now is somewhat of a debate.  One of the most famous explanations of the transition came from a priest by the name of Valentine of Rome who was a martyr and while in jail he was said to have fallen in love with his jailer's daughter and he died on 14 February, but I have my doubts on this rendition.  As with many holidays, religious and non religious meanings for each exist.  You have Christmas symbolized as Christ's birth and as the night that Santa Claus flies around the world with his reindeer delivering toys to good little girls and boys.  Easter is symbolized by the rising of the savior, Jesus Christ, and by a bunny hopping about dropping pretty decorated eggs and little sugary bits of goodness called peeps.  Based on this evidence, I see Valentine's day as a pagan's holiday with a religious twist.  With any holiday, the commercialized market cashes in.  Present day Valentine's Day generates an estimated $14.7 billion in retail sales in the United States.  I believe that this figure is a close estimate to the US national debt (no, I am not even opening the door for a discussion of politics).  With that said, the question I ask is, what does Valentine's day do for us?  For those who are single, it involves a mad dash to find a date, for those who are in a relationship, it involves a mad dash to find that perfect gift.  WOW... now that's a lot of pressure!!!  Not to be a pessimist, but really??  Do we really need to designate a day partner'd folk feel the need to make the other feel special?  Why not make that a goal for everyday of the year??  Why does it take a holiday called Valentine's day and 14 billion dollars to celebrate the love people have for each other?  On another note, this is a tough world for those of who are single and let's face it, Valentine's day is the most dreaded day of the year.  I have to ask, WHY?  Why do we celebrate this day??