"Members of the feared religious police were inspecting shops for red roses, heart-shaped products or gifts wrapped in red, and ordering store owners to get rid of them, the official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.
Red-colored or heart-shaped items are legal at other times of the year, but as Feb. 14 nears they become contraband in Saudi Arabia. The kingdom bans celebration of Western holidays such as Valentine's Day, named after a Christian saint said to have been martyred by the Romans in the 3rd Century."
But don't be alarmed. The Saudis engage in this backward, totalitarian thinking every year.
