Excerpt from the Associated Press: CNN:
A day many would love to kiss goodbye
"Valentine's Day swells with reasons to be depressed
Friday, February 10, 2006; Posted: 5:54 p.m. EST (22:54 GMT) by Nina Lalli, Nick Sylvester, Corina Zappia
NEW YORK (AP)

Shoshanna Rikon
Dating expert; founder, shoshannasmatches.com

Shoshanna Rikon knows about Valentine's Day expectations. Her phones start ringing off the hook every year about three weeks before the big day.

Rikon is a matchmaker, and her eager customers are singles in Manhattan, looking for a match. This is crunch time for Rikon. Or, as she puts it, "This is my tax season."

Most clients aren't blunt enough to come out and say they need a date for Valentine's Day, Rikon says. "But you know they're thinking about it. They see the decorations all over the place."

Rikon says there are three peaks to the matchmaking year. Just after New Year's, people want to act on those resolutions to find a soul mate. Then there's Valentine's Day. And then, in the spring, more male clients sign up. "I think it's the testosterone," she offers, rather mysteriously. "It's physical."

Not surprisingly, February is a peak season for online dating, too..