It’s that time of year again when stores turn pink and red in honor of the "lover’s holiday." Valentine’s Day is widely celebrated every Feb.14 with love, romance and gifts.

In American Muslim households, the concept of Valentine’s Day brings about mixed emotions.

"Valentine’s Day is just another day of the year [on] my calendar," says Rida Hamida.

For Hamida, the parent of an elementary school-aged child, celebration of Valentine’s Day is not something she would even consider.

"I teach my son that it has no relevance other than the idea that it is nice to pass out cards with treats to classmates," she says. "Thankfully, for the past two years, I have not dealt with the issue of ‘to pass or not to pass cards’ because he attends an Islamic school."

Among the American Muslim community, opinions vary on the celebration of Valentine’s Day.

Some Muslims celebrate Valentine’s Day, while others shun it.

Newlywed Sara Zaidi sees nothing wrong with the celebration of Valentine’s Day. She plans on celebrating this Valentine’s Day with her husband.

"I believe romance is an important part of keeping the passion and freshness of a marriage," says Zaidi. "At the same time, I believe those intimate moments can be more meaningful when celebrated on any given day rather than on a designated holiday."

Though the holiday is a non-Islamic holiday, Zaidi says she feels Valentine’s Day can be observed in a manner that respects the sensibilities and ideals of Islam.

"I don’t think there’s anything inherently un-Islamic about celebrating Valentine’s Day," she says. "But I do feel signs of public affection can be culturally insensitive to many Muslims."

Nawal Bahhur and her husband typically exchange cards and sometimes give flowers to one another on Valentine’s Day. Bahhur says she also gets her 12-year-old son a card so he doesn’t feel left out.

"I don’t consider Valentine’s Day a religious holiday. I just view it as a day to tell those that you love how much they are appreciated," Bahhur says.

Exchanging of cards was a requirement in her son’s classes when he was young, so Bahhur allowed him to participate.

Now that her son is older, she is unsure whether his teachers will continue the requirement.

"I do consider it innocent fun up to a certain age group," Bahhur says. "I think it is innocent for elementary-aged kids."

Bahhur says she believes celebrating Valentine’s Day is fine within the family at any age. However, she plans to discourage it at school in the teen years.

"I think as kids get closer to their teens, it confuses them to send out cards of love to fellow classmates," Bahhur says.

Like other American holidays, Valentine’s Day has arguably become an increasingly commercialized holiday.

In fact, more than one billion Valentine’s Day cards are sent throughout the country each year – second only to Christmas cards, according to the Greeting Card Association. Esther Howland is credited with sending the first Valentine’s Day cards; commercial valentines were introduced in the 1800s.

Indeed, Valentine’s Day has come a long way from its origins.

"Its significance is now based on its economical influence rather than the historically Christian/Roman meaning, which is just as controversial," Hamida says.

No one knows for sure about the exact origins of Valentine’s Day, but there are traces of ancient Roman and Christian traditions. For example, the symbol of Valentine’s Day is Cupid, son of Venus, believed to be the goddess of love in Roman mythology, also known as Aphrodite in Greek mythology .

In the Christian tradition, two saints are attributed to the naming of the holiday, which is referred to as St. Valentine’s Day. Both men were imprisoned and killed for being Christians in the 3rd century A.D.

While imprisoned, one of the saints wrote a letter to his jailer’s daughter who often visited him. He signed the note ‘Your Valentine."

Some say both saints died on Feb. 14, which in Roman times marked the night before Lupercalia, a rowdy Roman fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, believed to be the god of agriculture in Roman mythology. In this festival, two male youths adorned in animal skin would run through town gently slapping women with strips of goatskin dipped in sacrificial blood, a practice thought to bring fertility.

Some believe the Christian church may have decided to celebrate Valentine’s feast day in the middle of February to ‘Christianize’ celebrations of the pagan Lupercalia festival. It was ‘Christianized’ in honor of the martyrdom of St. Valentine in A.D. 270, who, during medieval times, was known for uniting lovers under stringent conditions.

In his "Holiday Myths" series, Shaykh Abdullah Hakim Quick reveals the Christian and Roman roots of St. Valentine’s Day. In his lecture, he discusses the evolution of Valentine’s Day and how celebration of the holiday has now become ingrained within the American school system. Quick noted how schools require kids to participate in the giving of valentines, and said "young people are forced together on that occasion" as a result.

Quick said those of the monotheistic tradition "understand that the relationship between men and women should be done in a sacred way within marriage and not in a loose way before marriage." He says Muslims must take a stand against the celebration of St. Valentine’s Day, particularly in regard to their youth.

"Those who are maintaining the limits in the monotheistic religions and those people of consciousness recognize that St. Valentine’s Day is really part of a pagan holiday where people are carrying out the so-called wishes of Venus or Aphrodite and the little son called Cupid," Quick says. "Young people should have nothing to do with Valentine’s Day."

Many high schools sell carnations and cards that can be bought by students and sent to other students on Valentine’s Day. This can be alienating and hard for the young Muslim trying to fit in.

"When I was in high school, I did feel left out on Valentine’s Day, especially when all my friends around me would get flowers sent to them with notes from admirers," Amal says*. "It does make you feel kind of bad. One year I even sent myself a flower!"

Lina Adams, a Youth Group Coordinator at the Islamic Center of Southern California, said that while there may be pressure to participate in the holiday and have boyfriends or girlfriends, it is important that young Muslims understand that having a significant other should not define their happiness or sense of fulfillment.

"Just because other people seem happy with their boyfriends/girlfriends doesn’t mean that we should compare our lives or our happiness to theirs," said Adams.

"The fact is that we are Muslims, and our lifestyles are different from non-Muslims -- whether we chose to accept it or not," she added. "The bottom line is that dating, the way dating is practiced in the US, is not permitted in Islam."

As far as feeling like an outcast, Adams said everyone is an outcast in some way or may stand out more than others. She said those are the ones who will need to have a stronger faith. "I know this sounds cliche, but life isn’t easy, and these are just tests of faith from Allah," said Adams.

Nancy Hanaan Serag, who teaches Islamic studies to students in the fifth through eighth grades at New Horizon School in Pasadena, says it’s often tough for American Muslim youth to refrain from partaking in such holiday exchanges at school and it may often make them "feel singled out."

Islam’s view is clear on the subject of the celebration of non-Muslim holidays. The overwhelming majority of scholars agree that Valentine’s Day falls into the same category as Christmas and Halloween, and is considered an innovation, or bid`ah, with no Islamic significance. But with stores lined wall-to-wall with flowers, gifts, heart-shaped balloons and candy, the temptation to take part can be hard to resist.

In public schools, Serag says the giving and receiving of Valentines by schoolchildren is meant to emphasize values of caring and sharing. While she believes Muslim parents should not encourage their children to give Valentines at school, she does feel parents can use Valentine’s Day as a learning opportunity to express important Islamic values.

"In Islam, showing love, caring and kindness should be expressed every day and not reserved merely for one day a year," Serag says. "They [parents] should encourage the themes of love, compassion and caring for one another and family, and extend it to loving Allah."

Serag says an alternate activity parents can promote is to have their children write resolutions to love and care for each other more throughout the year.

She stresses the importance of parents openly sharing with their children that Valentine’s Day is not Islamic and that they should emphasize the Islamic holidays that Muslims do celebrate throughout the year, Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha.

Serag says parents should be careful in how they discuss Valentine’s Day and could also use the holiday as an opportunity to talk about marital love in Islam.

"Parents should be careful not to deemphasize the showing of affection between spouses – holding hands and hugging – and could use this as an opportunity with older youth to discuss the importance of love within a marriage and why the notion of romantic love is reserved for marriage," she added.