The fact is that Valentine’s Day is celebrated twice in Egypt. Egyptians celebrate the occasion with the rest of the world on February 14. They also have their local Valentine’s Day. However, they celebrate this one on November 4 every year.
Lovers exchange flowers and greeting cards on Valentine's Day, which is celebrated annually on February 14 and coincides with St. Some men buy gifts for their female partners on this day as an expression of love. Other men prefer to hang out with their wives, fiancées or girl friends.
For those who do celebrate the holiday, it’s an opportunity to at least temporarily enjoy a cosmopolitan experience of romance in which status and financial concerns are no obstacle. I would say that there is nothing culturally special about that day in Egypt. Like all the other holidays, festivals, and pretty much any day in Cairo, consumerism is the main highlight of the day.
Egypt’s first “holiday of love” was initially not about romance. In 1978, journalist Mustafa Amin proposed using November 4 as a celebration of love for God, the nation, and fellow people. There are different accounts on the origins of this local Valentine’s Day, according to leading sociologist Soheir Lotfi. The late renowned journalist Mustafa Amin (1914-1997) came up with the idea of this local Valentine’s Day, she told a local newspaper recently.
Amin was sitting on his the balcony of his house in downtown Cairo’s Sayeda Zeinab district one day in 1974, when he saw a funeral procession. Surprisingly enough, there were only three people in the procession and this gripped Amin’s attention because it violated all social norms at the time. He left his balcony and hurried to the procession to ask about the reason for the low turnout in it. To his dismay, people in the procession told him that the deceased was a man who was loathed by everybody.
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He went straight to his office at Al-Akhbar newspaper, one of the largest Arabic language dailies in Egypt until today, and wrote a column about the importance of specifying a day for love. Nonetheless, Amin did not call for specifying this day for males and females in love.
Egyptian Valentine’s Day was shaped by American movies and other media from outside the country and by the growing trade between Egypt and China, which helps Egyptians of all classes and ages afford inexpensive gifts. Egyptians most often view the holiday as a celebration for young, unmarried couples. However, not everyone sees that as acceptable; some object to its consumerism or because it’s viewed as a Christian or foreign holiday.
Realistically, Kreil writes, most romantic relationships don’t fit the “impossible love” ideal of disregarding family wishes and concerns about status discrepancies in favor of passion. They tend to fall somewhere between that and the “traditional” arranged marriage.
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Ancient Egyptian Roots of Love and Romance
Looking back on ancient Egypt, we may recognise many similarities with our ancestors, whether it’s as simple as sharing commonly used words, emotional bonds with cats, or even thoughts and beliefs of the afterlife. Ancient Egyptians passed down many values and concepts about life that remained relative over time. Ancient Egyptians understood the fleeting nature of life, which made them live it more intentionally. They honoured the principles of peace and harmony and spread love all around.
In Ancient Egypt, love was symbolised and centralised in so many instances in culture, reflecting what the ancient Egyptians valued and considered to be of great importance. For example, one of ancient Egypt’s most popular and powerful gods was Hathor, the sky goddess. Hathor was the goddess of love, beauty, music, dancing, and all things lively. Another influential tale was the enduring love story of Isis and Osiris, where Isis’ unwavering love resurrected her slain husband, making their tale a symbol of eternal love.
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Themes of love are found in every history and culture shared among humanity across centuries. Ancient Egyptians were one of the first civilisations to write love poetry with heartfelt verses inscribed on papyrus and temple walls. These poems often praised a lover’s beauty and compared their presence to the sweetness of honey or the radiance of the sun. Some of these poems resemble the lyrics of modern love songs, showing how people have undergone the same experiences of love or heartbreak over time.
Gharabli also revealed the existence of dozens of Pharaonic texts, showing what ancient Egyptians wrote to express their feelings for their lovers. In an ancient manuscript an ancient Egyptian lover wrote, "My unique beloved is of incomparable beauty. Gharablialso said that ancient Egyptians used to give the lotus flower to their lovers,which is the symbol of the country.
The story of Ramses II and his wife Nefertari is one of the most famous love stories of ancient Egyptians. The story was engraved on the walls of Nefertari Temple in Abu Simbel. Ramses II describes his wife as a symbol of beauty and love. “Women in ancient Egypt enjoyed personal freedom.
In their daily life, romantic gestures extended to gifting symbolic items. The most common gifts were lotus flowers, which represented devotion and were gifted on special occasions like births and weddings. The other standard gift was the Ankh symbol, a gift of immortality.
We may know it today as Valentine’s Day, but let’s remember that the ancient Egyptians had constantly celebrated love and life long before Valentine’s. Ancient Egyptians had a vivid life that was profoundly intellectual and emotional.
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Valentine's Day Events in Egypt
For those who have not decided where they will spend Valentine’s Day with their loved ones, here is a list of places that have special events for the day:
- Opera House
- Antar & Abla Show - Forsan el-Sharq Heritage Company - El-Gomhouria Theatre - February 14 - 08:00pm
- Contrabass & Piano Recital - Mohamed Seif el-Yazal - Small Hall - February 15 - 08:00pm
- Mai Farouk Concert - Main Hall - February 15
Farouk is one of the best vocalists on the local musical scene at present. She was only eight years old when she performed at the Opera House for the first time. Farouk is known for singing the unique musical masterpieces of legendary Egyptian singers and her own songs too.
- Bayt Al-Sinnari
- Brot - Monday, February 14 - 07:00 to 09:00
This is a documentary film about the art and love of bread-making. It will be shown in co-operation with the Austrian Cultural Centre in Cairo. The film gives insights into the world of bread and raises questions about the future of this industry and what we actually eat through a string of interviews with bakers and bakery CEOs.
- Brot - Monday, February 14 - 07:00 to 09:00
- El-Sawy Culture Wheel
- Singer Essaf Concert - February 14 - 07:30pm - 09:30pm - Wisdom MMax Theatre - Zamalek - Tickets start from LE70
Those who will be outside Egypt on February 14 and miss out on these events, they have another chance to compensate it.
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