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Husband-and-wife comedians and commentators Jeremy Elwood and Michele A’Court share their views.

If you think Christmas brings out the “Bah, humbug” in otherwise perfectly pleasant people, you obviously haven’t spoken to them about Valentine’s Day. According to my less-than-romantic friends, it’s all just a money grab orchestrated by a sinister cabal of greeting card manufacturers, florists and chocolate companies, designed to guilt trip us out of spending money on a frivolous, saccharine declaration of affection.

So if you spent last Wednesday in a grumpy mood, avoiding looking through restaurant windows at happier couples, you aren’t alone. Although, let’s be honest, you probably were at the time.

Then there are others who just find it a bit fraught – choosing a gift, picking a card, writing (by hand, no less!) the right words inside it. That’s if you even remember the day in the first place. My parents celebrate on February 10, because that’s the day my father proposed to my mother, thinking it was Valentine’s Day. He’s a very clever man, by the way, perhaps just a bit overenthusiastic at times.

Stories like that are, though, are why I love Valentine’s Day. It helps that I first moved in with Michele on Valentine’s Day, purely by coincidence, as that’s when the lease on my own apartment ended. So when we celebrate (which we do) we’re marking a milestone in our own relationship, not just an arbitrary day.

Having said that, I do also like the history of the date, or rather how murky and mysterious its origins are. Are they Christian or Pagan or Roman or a combination of all of those and more? We don’t really know, which means we get to choose. Unlike, say, Easter, which for an atheist like myself is not much more than a long weekend complicated by having to remember to stock up on booze, Valentine’s Day can be whatever you want it to be. Some people hold SAD (Single Awareness Day) celebrations, others spend time with platonic friends, and still others just ignore it altogether.

Whichever you did this time, I hope it brightened your week a little bit.

On the other hand, if you spent the day feeling lonely or left out, I’m sorry. You’re probably mad at me for even bringing it up. I realise, every day, how lucky I am to have found someone to spend these days with. I also realise that there are so many who haven’t got that person, or had them and no longer do. So perhaps that’s the bit of Valentine’s Day I want to hold onto the most; taking a moment to appreciate, or remember, or hope.

If that costs me the overinflated price of a rose, or trying to get chocolates home before they melt, I’ll take it.