ON February 14, people celebrate love and partners spend big on lingerie, flowers, cakes, dinner dates among other gifts to mark Valentine’s Day.
For the past weeks, most retailers and gift shops have been busy wrapping an assortment of love merchandise and preparing hampers epitomised by red colour which is considered as the colour of love.
On such a day that has since been commercialised, in most towns and cities, a lot of vendors and shops normally cash in on flowers and dolls among other charming goods.
A florist in central Harare, Takudzwa Garaba, said he was expecting a brisk business yesterday and today.
“This year roses are many as there was enough rain, last year we did not have many flowers to sell. I am hoping that people come in their numbers to buy flowers,” he said.
“Married couples are the ones that have been buying the flowers. Some young people are now into drugs and they might not think of getting their partners valentine’s gifts.”
Today is a special day for those who believe in spoiling their loved ones. As a way of celebrating the day, some simply wear the colour red.
The day seems to come with a lot of pressures where lovebirds seek to put a lot of energy into spoiling each other at the expense of expressing their affection.
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“Some people expect too much on the day, big and expensive gifts, but this depends on the partner. People should just show that they love someone in a way which they can afford,” Mercy Kureva of Sunningdale, Harare, told NewsDay Life & Style.
Sadly, Valentine’s Day for some has brought with it undesirable situations such as life regrets as some got to exchange their virginity for flowers or a plate of cheap meals.
For some people, the day comes with divorces at a time when love is supposed to be rekindled as per the purported origins of the concept of Valentine’s Day.
“Although I feel like love should be celebrated everyday. I do love the gifts on the day,” Tafadzwa Kasirori of Mbare said.
Men sometimes feel pressured by their partners to buy gifts they cannot afford and at times failure to deliver on the gifts results in some couples or lovers divorcing.
It is also unsettling the way people fall into debt and unnecessary heartbreaks because of this Valentine’s Day.
Interestingly, some men who seemingly do not subscribe to the day are encouraging each other not to spoil their partners on Valentine’s Day under the Stingy Men Association that is trending across social media platforms.
“Valentine’s Day has no value to me, I only watch others emphasise its importance,” Nobuhle Ncube of Hatfield noted.
It seems some pressures that emanate from Valentine’s Day are causing some young girls to seek for “blessers”, while younger men find themselves hooked up with cougars popularly known as “sugar mummies”.
A “blesser” is street lingo for a rich man who offers support, typically financial and material, to a younger female companion in exchange for sex or friendship.
A cougar is an older female who seeks favours, usually of a sexual nature from younger men in exchange for financial and material support.
Sadly, some young girls end up having blessers, exposing themselves to contracting sexually transmitted diseases and having unwanted pregnancies, all for valentine gifts.
With all the controversies surrounding the day, it will not be surprising to see a few buying themselves Valentine’s gifts to showcase on social media.
