Some traders in the capital have blamed pastors for the low patronage of gifts and souvenirs for love ones during the Valentine’s Day celebrations.
They alleged that, pastors in the country have, in the past few years, demonised the celebration with their continuous anti-valentine’s day sermons.
This, according to traders, who spoke to The Ghanaian Times in separate interviews yesterday, had put off customers leading to low sales.
“Valentine period used to a period for high sales, but now the euphoria that comes with the celebration has gone down with the constant crusade by pastors” Mrs. Tina Djang, owner of a gift shop in Adenta said.
“The pastors say Valentine’s Day is evil. You know how Ghanaians obey everything their pastors say, so, they have also stopped buying gifts for their loves ones” another vendor, Mrs. Diana Saah said
She added that it was about time to tell the truth about the celebration so that it could be celebrated in the appropriate manner, adding that spreading falsehood about a celebration was unfair.
Another reason for the low sales, according to Mrs. Patience Tetteh, a souvenir vendor, at Opera Square was that the celebration was gradually losing its significance.
Rolland Anokye, a sales representative said, although most Ghanaians knew about the day, fewer people bought gifts for their loved ones and that was part of the reason for the low sales .
According to him, celebrants appreciated the essence of the day, but many could not afford to buy gifts because they claim they were too expensive and did not have money to purchase them.
He said since Valentine’s day was officially made Chocolate Day in Ghana, most people had shifted their attention to the purchase of chocolate, instead of teddy bears, wine, jewelries and cards that used to be preferred gifts in the past.
St Valentine’s Day, is observed on February 14 annually to honour a Christian martyr, St Valentine.
It is an occasion where people express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards among other gifts.
The Ghana Tourism Authority had officially declared February 14, a day for chocolate consumption.
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