Saudi Arabia’s religious enforcers, backed by the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, have started their annual purge of anything Valentine-related, including flowers, gifts, candy and the color red. In the week leading up to the holiday, the commission ran ads in the media warning shop owners against selling Valentine’s Day merchandise, and the national newspaper Al-Riyadh did its part by highlighting the downside of cupid’s day with articles (in Arabic) like “a fifth of adults prefer to spend Valentine’s Day with their pets instead of their partners” and “Valentine’s Day flavored with cocaine in the Netherlands this year.”
