February 14 is Valentine's Day in the United States ! For many people , it is a romantic day . It's the day to show your love for that special someone in your life , usually a boyfriend , girlfriend , husband or wife . Of course , you should do that every day . But on Valentine's Day there is a special pressure to do so with a gift . Popular gifts for this holiday include flowers , candy and a card or maybe a nice dinner out in a restaurant . Some people use Valentine's Day to declare their love for someone . Just be careful . A declaration of love is a serious move . And , if the person you love is also a friend , you may put your friendship at risk . There is no turning back once you say the words , “I love you .” In other words , there is no putting that genie back in the bottle . Or maybe it happens the other way around for you . Maybe Valentine's Day is the day you find out that you have a secret admirer . That happened to me once and it was very awkward . One Valentine's Day many years ago , an old flame of mine showed up at my door unexpectedly , out of the blue . In one hand he had chocolates , in the other some beautiful flowers . He told me that he never stopped thinking of me and that he still loved me . I was shocked . I had not seen him in over a year . Then my shock turned to pity because I did not feel the same way . While he had carried a torch for me for all those months , I had gotten over him a long time ago . Still , I invited him in for a cup of tea . After all , he had just flown into town . When I told him that I did not feel the same way , he did not waste a minute . He turned to my roommate , handed her the flowers and asked , “What about you ?” Both of us shouted the same thing . So , I guess he wasn't carrying a torch for me after all . In British English , a torch is a simple flashlight . But in the U.S ., a torch is fire , or a flame , on a stick . If you say you carry a torch for someone , you mean you are carrying a flaming love for them in your heart . But usually , you secretly love them from a distance . And often , those strong feelings are not returned . We have a special way to describe this type of heartbreak – unrequited love . That is an advanced way of saying unreturned love -- which we don't really say . I like to describe unrequited love as love traveling in one direction down a dark , lonely , dead-end street , going nowhere . People started using the idiom "to carry a torch for someone " in the early 1900s . Around the same time , “torch song ” and “torch singer ” also became common terms . Many of us have carried a torch for someone . That is why torch songs became common . Torch singers sound as if they are filled with pain as the unrequited flame of love burns deeply inside them . Torch songs are filled with yearning -- wishing and hoping with all your heart that the person you love will love you back .