A Black Day if You're Single

That dreaded day is here, where all those people go all out and spend all their money buying...stuff...for their man or girl. Bah! We single people don't need any of that! We have days dedicated to us and our singledom!

There's...

Black Day (14 April) - An informal tradition in South Korea for those who are single to get together and eat Korean noodles with black and white bean sauce

Singles Day or Guang Gun Jie (11 November) - A Chinese pop culture holiday for those who are single to celebrate their single life. They tend to go out for dinner with their single friends and make sure they pay their own bills to maintain their independence. It's also a chance for others to get away from being single, such as attending blind dates.

Singles Awareness Day (SAD) (13, 14 or 15 February...your choice!) - A day for those who are single to celebrate/commiserate their single life. Some observers of SAD do so out of spite for Valentine's Day. A common greeting on this day is "Happy SAD!!"

And in Valentine's Day-related news around the world:

- Saudi Arabia moral police are banning the sale of roses and Islamic groups are warning against the promotion of Valentine's Day in Kuwait. The Saudi Gazette reported that "...the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice had visited flower and gift shops in Riyadh last weekend and instructed them to remove all red items - from red roses and wrapping paper to boxes and teddy bears - from their shelves...". On the day before Valentine's Day, raids are conducted and any red items that are a symbol of love are confiscated. So guess what? They appear on the black market and their price shoots up!

- In contrast, in Singapore, officials who are concerned that their country's low birth rate could affect the country's survival, they are using Valentine's Day to promote romance and marriage! They are stepping up their "Romancing Singapore" campaign on Thursday in an effort to get people together and doing some luuuvin! The government is directly funding some dating agencies to come up with new opportunities for singles to meet and get together.

- Valentine's Day is right in the middle of divorce season in Texas. According to Texas Dallas attourney Vanden Eykel, people are most vulnerable at Valentine's Day, because 'the passion that people reserve for this date is turned inside out when a divorce is imminent'.

So maybe being single on Valentine's Day is not so bad after all!