Valentine's Day Eve, everywhere I turn I see red roses, cards, hearts, teddy bears, even bloggers are posting about this day. Funnily enough I was listening to Allibiya FM two days ago and they were urging people to celebrate 'the feast of love' WOW !
I could not believe it; there was a time where the florists were prevented from opening on the 14 of February (can't remember which year exactly). It was a different regulation than in KSA where someone actually had a fatwa!( yes that's true). But the reason put forth in Libya was that it was not a celebration deriving from our traditions.
Anyway in Libya lovers and friends did not bother, girls wore red and guys brought them teddy bears and other stuff…
Back to Allibya ….So the people on the radio were talking how important it was to celebrate Love and that it does not matter if this feast is not Libyan but a western tradition as love is universal, it is love for your lover, spouse , parents, kids , pets, nation, – it is all love and should have a special day . They managed to surprise me again....
Khadijateri asked me two years ago what will I write on Valentine, well Khadija I think that poem is still good enough and so I'm reposting here .
The true lover has everything to lose.
So, he fears nothing.Without acceptance, relationships become work.
As religion without faith is just an obligation.
Success without passion remains empty.
As love without trust -- just a restriction.A
life lived without love --A life lived without love is just noise and commotion.
And we're capable of so much more .................................
By Baharak Sedigh .
My top 4 favourite posts which are suitable for this occasion are :
(1) Leilouta
He remembered everything. Each look. Every smile. The kiss on the cheek and the
warm embrace she had given him after their first date. The sight of her hurrying
down the street as she left him for work that same night and the wave she gave
him as she turned back to look at him before she entered the building. He didn’t
want to overlook any of this, he thought, as he sat next to her. All of these
impressions were burned into his memory.
(2) Harroun El Poussah
It is a question that insures that I will try my very best, each and every
time. No compromises on that. If she’s worth it, then she deserves my best,
nothing less
(3)Libyan Violet
In the meantime Ladies and gentlemen allow me to share with you my most
favourite Valentine card – it's 22 years old now
(4) Nomad => touching photo....( no comment)
The ultimate gesture of Love is of course sacrifice , embodied in Dolly Parton's " I will always love you".
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY TO YOU ALL FOLKS !
With Love (to you too :P)
Highlander
update 14-2-07 => if your muse is nearby maybe you fancy entering a poetry ? check what the crew has come up with on Global Voices :)
PS Despite some Hindu organisations threatening to oppose Valentine celebrations 'claiming the day reflects a Western phenomenon which is destroying Indian culture' , India too has caught up ![more]
12 comments:
Valentine
:D)
Thanks Highlander, same to you :)
So it is Valentine again, I must confess here that I don't believe in Valentine's Day. I admit I am a very romantic person but I find allocating a particular day in the whole year for expressing love to someone, completely unromantic. What I see is just a commercial feast, it is true that some take it seriously and celebrate it truly and genuinely, but as I see it, if I truly love somebody then I don't need one day of the year to express that, especially if that day is not unique, where all people are doing the same act of expressing their feelings. I will commemorate our love on a very special and unique day, lets say the day I first set eyes on her, or the day we said that we loved each other, but Valentine's day, I have to let down my sweet heart that I’m waiting for and say, sorry darling your Valentine is not on the 14th Feb. but it will be another day, it will be every day of the year... but for the sake of true lovers I say happy Valentine...
Ghazi
aww happy valentines day to you too :)
I am so surprised to find out from your post that valentine's day is celebrated in Libya with all the red gadgets that you get here! I think I need to visit Libya soon :o)
good wishes to all
I bloghopped here from Nabeel's Cosmos - I am really enjoying your blog.
Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours (albeit belated)
Lotus
Nomad & Violet thank you :)
Ghazi I do agree that love should be expressed everyday, but hey if some people wish to allocate a day to it well as you say we can join them :P Thanks for your wishes and inshallah you find the romantic woman who deserves you !
Nabeel thank you for visiting you have a lovely blog and all the best to you and Sugarlips forever :) your poem is beautiful !
AngloLibyan , yes believe it or not Libyans ( at least in Tripoli) have been celebrating Valentine at least since my university days regardless of the occasional closing of florists in some year :) They can't stop people from wearing red now can day ? I remember one year it was so bad it looked like communist Russsia with all the red and pink on the streets LOL.
Come and visit quick !
Lost Libyano, yes Valentine is not an islamic day , but it's not a Christian one either anymore. It has just become a love day, so why not it's like mother's day or father's day or international women's day, those are not 'christian' days ... but just a date on a calendar .. let's just enjoy it if we want without too much analysis :P
Thanks for your wishes !!!
Hi Lotus and welcome to my blog as well, it's cool that Nabeel's readers are coming here as well ! Thank you Nabeel :)
Oh Lotus I am such a fan of bollywood actress and your blog is fantastic you made me want to read Hindi novels too.
First I do not admitted this occasion, but that I AIPAC a pat some send SMS By my mubail and messanger congratulating dry e without any of Red things.. when anyone asked me what you have got on Valentine's Day and how You spend it,i say ... That Day was for fires, not Valentine's Day ... The fire broke into gasoline station next to the kindergarten, which Iworked into it and worried by the explosion of Vasra'na dropped children of the second round to the area for fear of any damage to anybody recall,teachers started screaming voice high and the children regarding crying.
It was Valentine Red love despite the fact that I do not believe or think beliefs of the accused AT West Muslims, others and I think that all our days full Love.
hope my enlish not so bad
Hi Lovelytripoli, thanks for commenting ! I am so sorry you had such a bad day. It's good the children and you are safe. You're right it was a red day after all !
"PS Despite some Hindu organisations threatening to oppose Valentine celebrations 'claiming the day reflects a Western phenomenon which is destroying Indian culture..."
Oh please people! How pathetic does your culture have to be to be threatened by a day of celebration to highlight romantic love between men and womwn?
My lady and myself took this opportunity to put our children in the care of a trusted friend and checked into an expensive hotel for some serious R&R and to catch up on our "interpersonal relationship". Afterward, I felt like a months worth of stress had been lifted from my shoulders. :-)
Curt from Houston, the sentence you quoted is about Hindus not Arabs of Muslims. Hindus are different from us.
dear highlander, I have stumbled on your blog through the following link: http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/2007/04/02/touring-libyan-blogs-chaperones-redux-successful-women-mothers-day-and-more/
which throughly spoke about a few popular Libyan blogs, yours and ours included, and I felt very informed by your blog, (i can't believe anyone would think of such a stupid rule!), and thought to let you know.
and I would like to take this opportunity to introduce our blog for Libyan Mental TV, and I was wondering if you could give me your feedback, thank you
http://lmtv.wordpress.com
LibyanMentalTV@GMail.com
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