Dating

Valentine's Day is a special time for love. Millions of people will receive flowers, chocolate or some other gift. Others might get just a phone call or an electronic message from someone they care about.

Still others would be happy just to have someone special in their life on Valentine's Day.

Tradition tells us that Saint Valentine was a third-century Roman who performed marriages and died for his Christian beliefs on February fourteenth. That was a day celebrated in ancient Rome in connection with love.

Traditionally, young people in America lived with their parents until marriage. Some still do. But, in general, young people have grown more independent. They wait longer to get married.

Even then, they still have to find the right person.

There are many ways for people to meet. Some meet at work. Others meet by chance. Still others look for help from services that bring people together.

Friends and family members might offer to help. They might plan a blind date. This is a meeting between two people who have never seen each other before. And, unless things go well, may never seen each other again.

In movies, two people often fall in love after what Hollywood calls a "cute meet." They might be lawyers on opposite sides in a court case. Or one person gets a letter meant for the other. Or their dogs get into a fight on the street. Who knows how many people really do meet this way.

In real life, finding a person and establishing a relationship is usually hard work.

A lot of people try to improve their chances by looking in places where people with similar interests go. This might be a place of religion. Or a bookstore. Many bookstores in America offer special programs and social activities for single people.

Singles may join health clubs or sports teams where men and women play together. If nothing else, at least they get some exercise.

But sometimes none of these efforts succeed. So people might try to meet someone over the Internet. Here too there are no guarantees.

Internet dating services had been growing sharply through the end of two thousand three. But the industry growth rate has slowed.