[Curiosities] Valentine’s Day in Morocco Cherishes Love Beyond Romance

[BirSaNN]

Amid a sea of hearts and roses, Moroccans celebrate love for friends and family, especially mothers.

In the days leading up to Feb. 14, hearts and roses began to adorn Rabat’s shopping hubs.

One may expect that Morocco, with its conservative culture, may not celebrate Valentine’s Day or only see it as a commercial opportunity, but many are celebrating the day of love in their own way — with a focus on friends and family, especially mothers.

Love is in the air

Despite its origins as a Christian holiday named after Saint Valentine, the annual celebration has mostly lost its religious associations and expanded beyond just love in a romantic sense. In America, for example, family and friends send each other cards and gifts, spending a total of $23.9 billion last year.

Rabat’s businesses are gearing up, too. Around the mall Arribat Center, clothing stores put up signs for discounts, and cosmetic stores displayed packages wrapped with red bows. A snack stand encourages customers to “show your love with sweet gifts.” For children, too, toy shops displayed shelves of teddy bears hugging little hearts.

Left: a wall in Tendy’s covered with sticky notes saying “I love you” in different languages. Right: Valentine’s Day advertisements.

Tendy’s cafe, perhaps most thoughtfully, decorated a wall with handwritten sticky notes that say “I love you” in different world languages, including Standard Amazigh and Riffian, a language spoken in northern Morocco.

In the Fleur d’Agdal florist shop, the workers showed Morocco World News their behind-the-scenes preparations. 

Hundreds if not thousands of red rose buds sit in bins, not yet blooming but timed to reach their most beautiful on Valentine’s Day. They will soon be arranged in heart-shaped pots and gift-wrapped with heart-print papers that proclaim “I love you” in artistic fonts.

The Pralinor Artisan Chocolatier is also going all out, with roses on its window and arch, framing a table filled with love-themed products ranging from a heart-shaped stuffed chocolate shell to elaborate arrangements in heart-shaped velvet boxes with ribbon bows.

In recent years, florists and chocolatiers have seen significant increases in sales, they told MWN. 

Outside of the commercial hub of Rabat, small businesses are also offering Moroccans the chance to buy a perfect gift to a loved one. Personal bakery Delices Dghoghi, for example, offers customized cakes for Valentine’s Day.

To the moon and back

Commercialization may appear superficial, but love runs much deeper. A husband, holding hands with his wife, told MWN that they celebrate Valentine’s Day every year, sometimes going out and sometimes at home. “Love is important because it’s the essential thing in life,” he said.

An overt celebration of love is not always accepted, however, especially for unmarried couples. While some object to the commercialization of love, others protest on religious grounds, evident in the backlash that confectionary brand Merendina faced for its love-themed packaging last year, with some Moroccans calling it “Hchuma [shameful]” while others responded by declaring “love is not a crime.”

For some youth around Rabat, however, Valentine’s Day is not about romantic love but rather about family, friends, and other people they cherish in life, they told MWN.

“It's actually similar to Mother's Day,” 23-year-old Fadel Mahade said. “When you ask Moroccans if they celebrate Mother’s Day, they may think ‘why should I celebrate my mother on one specific day when I celebrate my mother throughout the year?’ Why should we choose one specific day to celebrate love when we can celebrate throughout the year and as long as we live?”

 

A chocolatier preparing for Valentine’s Day.

Salah Eddine Kadimi, who taught English at an education institute in Rabat, told MWN that he used to hold writing competitions for students on Valentine’s Day: “The surprise was that the majority — around 85% or more — wrote about their moms. They tell us it's a cycle of love.”

Kadimi pointed to the Atlas Lions’ touching celebrations with their mothers and King Mohammed VI’s royal invitation to their mothers for a reception. Although many of the players were raised in a different environment and culture, their love is “100% a manifestation of a typical Moroccan family,” Kadimi explained.

“We’re shifting in generation but some of our basic rituals and principles are still there because they are highly appreciated,” Kadimi said, recalling that “it’s always one of the highest priorities in Islam to give it all to your mother and father.”

link: https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2023/02/354027/valentines-day-in-morocco-cherishes-love-beyond-romance