Is Valentine's Day Dying?

Is Valentine's Day as we know it starting to fizzle? It would seem that more and more people are starting to push back (and hard) against a holiday that's been around since the year 496. The holiday is believed to have been started with by the Romans through a festival called "Lupercalia" which marked the start of the Roman spring season. The belief is that during the festival, boys would draw the name of a girl from a box and the two would "date" during the festival and might even get married.

Although Valentine's Day has been around for centuries, it seems to have lost its sizzle as many people see it as more of a commercial holiday, a way for businesses to make a buck.

According to Market Watch, the National Retail Federation says that Americans will spend a record $161.96 on Valentine's Day. That's a total of $20.7 billion dollars. And while spending will be up significantly this year, fewer people plan to celebrate the holiday. Only 54% of people plan to acknowledge Valentine's Day this year.

Want more proof that Valentine's Day doesn't hold the same specialness that it once did? According to Refinery 29, 44% say that they "didn’t expect to celebrate with any presents or romantic meals."