WITH tears of joy gushing from her eyes, Ms Lungelo Ncube (40) held her first Valentine’s gift since she started dating.

Stunned, with her hands shaking, Ms Ncube could not believe she had to wait for over a decade to get a man who would surprise her with such a romantic gesture.

She is one of many who celebrated Valentine’s Day yesterday as the streets of Bulawayo were littered with people carrying gift bags and flowers.

The craft market in front of the City Hall was abuzz as people bought flowers and waited patiently for them to be neatly wrapped so that they could take them to their loved ones.

A significant number of girls were spotted carrying flowers, their faces beaming with joy.

Over the years, Valentine’s Day has been mostly associated with young people trying to keep up appearances, however, a snap survey in the City Centre revealed that even mature couples celebrate the “day of love”.

Some couples even wore matching outfits as they celebrated the day.

Like most folks, Ms Ncube received her gift at her workplace early in the morning.

When a Chronicle news crew caught up with her, she was still standing by the doorstep with her colleagues taking pictures and videos as she marvelled at the gift her United Kingdom-based boyfriend had organised for her.

She said she did not expect a gift from him because he lives overseas. Ms Ncube said they had been dating for two years and her boyfriend had never bought her a gift.

“I’m very happy; this is the first bouquet of flowers I’ve received since I started being involved in romantic relationships. My boyfriend really caught me off guard. Yesterday he had been acting funny, and when I tried video calling him like we always do, he told me he was tired. Because of that, I was expecting a heartbreak today instead of a gift,” said Ms Ncube.

The news crew also met a 65-year-old man, only identified as Mr Phiri, buying chocolates and a bouquet of roses for his wife who was at a nearby supermarket waiting for him.

Mr Phiri said he had passed by a florist with his wife and she seemed blown away by the bouquets.

“I saw how she kept looking at the bouquets and commented on how beautiful they were. I kept quiet and went with her to a nearby supermarket where we’re buying groceries. Right now, I left her paying at the supermarket and rushed to get her this gift.

This is going to be a surprise to her and I can’t wait to see her reaction,” he said.

Mr Phiri said Valentine’s Day should be for married couples and he does not understand why married people shy away from the whole idea.

Miss Nomthandazo Ncube (25) left the news crew and bystanders who were listening to her awe-struck as she said the rose, teddy bear, and chocolate slab she was carrying was for her 17-year-old brother who did not have money to buy a gift for his girlfriend.

She said she had seen how miserable he was in the morning and decided to buy the gifts for him so he could surprise his girlfriend.

“Nothing excites me more than young love, especially high school love, because it’s still pure. He’s going to be happy when he sees what I got for him,” said the proud sister.

Men sometimes become clueless about what kind of gift they can get for their girlfriends or wives and to solve this dilemma, many resorted to getting a mutual friend to organise a gift for their woman.

Many women like Mrs Clarity Sibanda took pleasure in putting together the perfect gift for their friends on behalf of their men.

Mrs Sibanda said she was given money by her friend’s fiancé so that she could buy her a gift.

“Because I know what my friend likes and doesn’t like, putting the gift together was really easy. Now that my job is done, I’m taking the gift to her man who is going to deliver it today after work. Women should really take pride in not being jealous and do such things for others,” said the good friend.

Mr Innocent Mudzamiri and his wife Nometha Mafu, who were on their way to watch a movie and had hopes of going for dinner afterwards, blew the news crew away. The couple wore matching black and white outfits.They said they decided to spend the day together, away from their children and their busy lives, as a way of reminding each other why they both fell in love.

Miss Clarence Jamela and her friend Mr Steven Phiri said Valentine’s Day is not only for lovers but for friends too and that is why Steven bought a rose for his friend Clarence.

Valentine’s Day, also called Saint Valentine’s Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honouring a martyr named Valentine.Through later folk traditions, it has become a significant cultural and commercial celebration of romance and love in many regions of the world. -Chronicle