EDITOR — IT came as a shock to learn that my children’s primary school formally communicated that pupils were expected to come to school dressed in red and complementing colours in celebration of Valentine’s Day.
A lot of questions came to mind.
Do the school authorities understand the pagan origins of Valentine’s Day?
Is it appropriate to teach primary school-going children about romantic love or romance?
Is it appropriate to teach my ECD A daughter and Grade Four son about alien cultural practices meant to pierce our moral fabric?
Who do the school authorities think will foot the bill for buying gifts and roses?
Are we not infusing the wrong ideas into our children’s heads, especially the older ones who are experiencing puberty?
I do not think any of these questions will elicit a positive answer.
From my understanding, Valentine’s Day celebrates an obscure character called St Valentine with a questionable sexual orientation, and I think such festivals have no place in our culture.
I read elsewhere that Valentine’s Day was founded in the early modern England and spread throughout the English-speaking world in the 19th Century.
It has since been commercialised, raking in billions every year.
We have fallen hook, line and sinker for this gimmick which is there to milk our pockets, yet most do not even understand it’s origins.
It is high time Zimbabweans wake up and smell the coffee!
Baba Thandeka,
Ruwa.