All too soon Valentine’s Day (usually called Val’s Day) is here again and come Tuesday February 14, 2023, the Day will be celebrated in diverse ways all over the world.

Usually, weeks before the cel­ebration, shelves of stores are decorated in red, white, and pink. Reports indicate that the streets of Accra is already flooded with red, which is usually associated with love, in preparation towards Val’s Day and traders are taking advan­tage to cash in on the event.

Some restaurants, hotels and en­tertainment centres have not been left out but they are also making feverish preparations to welcome and entertain guests all in the name of Val’s Day.

Despite the history surround­ing Valentine’s Day, when a Priest named Valentine was executed for breaking the law and secretly performing marriages for young men which was forbidden, the Day has now evolved into a day when lovers take the opportunity to renew their love, friendship and admiration for one another.

While lovers spend quality time together to reignite their love with families and friends others exchange gifts such as chocolates, bouquet of flowers, greeting cards, toffees, dresses, food and drinks.

Although the celebration of Val’s Day has become a commercial venture sometimes with its relat­ed stress, one needs to be mindful of the fact that showing love can be a token, which is not so expen­sive. What is more important is the acknowledgement of love and admiration to keep the relationship vibrant.

Sometimes the expectations from some partners may be so high that eventually it leads to disap­pointments but one needs not spend lavish gifts to express love. If you cannot afford lavish gifts, celebrate it in moderation.

It is surprising that despite the noise made about Valentine’s Day some Ghanaians are not perturbed at all by its celebration which is observed all over the world.

Some are of the view that partners need to express their love everyday and should not wait for Val’s Day before they do so. Others consider it a ‘taboo’ and would not even dream of celebrating it.

The Spectator is of the view that whatever it is Val’s Day is now cel­ebrated as National Chocolate Day for the consumption of chocolate to promote made-in-Ghana chocolate and other cocoa products, which has caught on well with many Ghanaians and that in itself is refreshing.

Valentine’s Day is now a Day for love and chocolate so more people buy chocolate to share with their loved ones on this special day. It is no more a Day when most of the youth engage in promiscuity; it is a day to eat more chocolate and pro­mote Ghana’s chocolate products.

We say a big thanks to Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey (of blessed mem­ory), the then Minister of Tourism in 2007 who spearheaded this great initiative and announced that Val’s Day would be replaced with the celebration of chocolate.

So whether you are in a relation­ship or not the Day offers a good op­portunity to take time off your busy schedule and spend time with your family and friends to share happy moments and eat chocolate.

The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCO­BOD) must also ensure that made-in-Ghana chocolate is available and affordable for people to consume chocolate and its other products to stay healthy.

Let us be kind and share what we have with the needy in our own small way to make Valentine-Choco­late Day worth-celebrating.