Today is Valentine's Day! While the holiday may have Christian origins, today it is a thoroughly commercialized and secular celebration of romance. A few days before the holiday, Al-Masry Al-Youm took to the streets to ask people if they will celebrate this year with teddy bears and chocolates, and if not, why. Wael Mahmoud, 30, contractor: "I don't celebrate it, I don't care. People are crushed and no one has time to celebrate Valentine's Day." Reda el-Sayed, 61, pensioner: "We don't celebrate this occasion in my family, because it originated with a priest. But we do celebrate that of Egypt, originated by Ali and Mostafa Amin on 4 November. I usually cook on this day and invite all my children to my house." Mai Mohamed, 24, secretary: "I don't celebrate it, simply, because I'm not in a relationship. And even when I was, I didn't celebrate it. I regard this day as everyone's day. Also, I think that couples can celebrate on any other day, for example, the day they first saw each other, but not necessarily this day." Marian Supaldo, 20, English instructor: "Though I used to live in London, I don't celebrate it and I don't know why people care so much about it. If you're single, why would you celebrate it?" Lobna Nabeel, 20, senior at the faculty of Arts: "I don't celebrate it, but I may hang out with my friends and make fun of people wearing red. Even if I were in a relationship, I wouldn't celebrate it." Nader el-Negeli, 22, lawyer: "I don't celebrate it because of circumstances including life, work and study. And I think it's the same for all fresh graduates who need to prepare for their future, in which case they would think twice about love and how to celebrate it. Only trivial youth celebrate Valentine's Day. We all need to think about it, especially in light of the huge number of cases filed at family courts."
