Rabat – Despite prevailing cultural and religious beliefs opposing Valentine’s Day celebrations in Morocco, young Moroccans widely adopt the celebration and seize the occasion to celebrate love and share gifts.
Tracing back the history of Valentine’s Day
While there is much controversy surrounding the origins of the celebration, historians seem to agree that it started in pre-Christian Rome under the reign of emperor Claudios II around the third century A.D.
The Roman emperor outlawed marriage for young soldiers, believing that marriage and love led to the deterioration of the Roman army. Rebelling against the order, Valentine, a Roman Saint, helped young soldiers tie the knot in secret.
The emperor soon found out about the ordeal and ordered the execution of Saint Valentine. Other accounts indicate that Valentine was a saint who helped Christians flee prosecution under pagan Rome.
Over time, Saint Valentine came to be associated with love, and globalization pushed the celebration beyond Europe to make it a worldwide event.
Valentine’s Day in Morocco
Public opinion is quite divided among Moroccans rejecting the celebration and those embracing it.
Within Moroccan culture, Valentine’s Day is viewed as “hchoma,” a pejorative adjective in Moroccan Arabic describing acts that go against cultural norms. Others rejecting the celebration cite religious arguments inspired by Islamic tenets.
The majority of Muslim scholars maintain that Valentine’s Day celebrations are rooted in pagan-worshiping traditions dating back to pagan Rome. Voices opposing Valentine’s Day celebrations often cite religious arguments as most Muslim clergy unanimously agree that the celebration is Christian and therefore unbefitting for Muslims.
The same scholars maintain that Islam forbids adopting Christian or pagan-originating celebrations.
However, the negative culture surrounding the celebration of Valentine’s Day in Morocco does not seem to deter shop owners from banking on the occasion to boost sales.
While walking through downtown capital Rabat, or metropolitan Casablanca, a passerby will inevitably notice front shops all painted in scarlet red and decorated with red hearts, cupid welding bows and arrows, and red flowers.
Bakeries, perfume, flowers, and chocolate shops in Morocco all race to offer Valentine’s Day special gift packaging and deals for lovers. Hotels and spas also ride the wave of the multibillion-generating event.
People spend worldwide $23.9 billion over Valentine’s Day gifts and celebrations, according to the American National Retail Federation. In the US, the event is the fifth largest in terms of consumer spending.
Rabat-based florists told Morocco World News that rose sales usually double in February, and chocolate shop owners say that sales bolster in the days leading to February 14.
Young Moroccans are mostly behind the cultural shift towards making Valentine’s Day more mainstream in the country.
Read Also: How do Moroccans Celebrate Valentine’s Day?
