感恩节在加拿大是个重要的节日，人们会在这一天举行各种派对。对于单身狗们来说，参加这样的派对还是很有意义的.....

Maura: So, how do people spend Valentine’s Day? I really think there are two kinds of people: people who like to celebrate Valentine’s Day and then people who really don’t give a hoot.

Harp: Yeah, you’re right. There are only two ways about it: either you celebrate and maybe you go on a romantic date to a restaurant, or there are the people who think that it’s just commercial and they don’t do anything special.

Maura: Mmhmm. So, if you’re one of those people who does like Valentine’s Day, what people normally do in Canada is go out to dinner, spend a special evening together, they might buy each other gifts.

Harp: Yup. There are usually flowers involved. It’s the typical Hallmark idea of romance.

Maura: Well, it sounds like you think it’s a commercial holiday when you say the typical Hallmark idea.

Harp: I do. I think it’s really made to just encourage people to spend money.

Maura: Right. This is something that people might think about many holidays; that it is commercial, which means that a holiday is created so that people spend money, so that people buy things, buy decorations, buy presents.

Harp: I think if you love people, you should be celebrating every day, and that doesn’t mean having to spend money, but just appreciating the people in your life.

Maura: I agree. So, I’m wondering, even though you think it’s a commercial holiday, have you ever celebrated Valentine’s Day?

Harp: Hmm… Nope, I don’t think I’ve ever really celebrated. I have never been to a restaurant or gone out for dinner on Valentine’s Day, but I have received flowers. I remember one of my friends threw a Valentine’s Day party, but it had nothing to do with Valentine’s Day. It was just a party for all our friends.

Maura: I think it can be fun to go for dinner and do something special, but I also think Valentine’s Day is often a bigger holiday for people who are single, because it gets them looking for who might be out there or it maybe gives them the opportunity to ask someone on a date, or go to a party with other single people. That’s when it’s most exciting, when you might think, “Oh, maybe I’m gonna meet someone.”

Harp: Yup. I think you might be right about that. And I think if you’re single, you’re also thinking, “Oh, I don’t have someone special to spend the day with” when it seems most of the people I know who are in couples, who are in relationships, don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day.

Maura: Maybe we’re just old and crotchety now