Dubai Exchange of apples decorated with cloves is an old Kurdish tradition celebrated on Valentine's Day. An apple, preferably red, represents love and prosperity.
Sara Kadir, a Kurd from Northern Iraq who lives in Dubai, spoke to Gulf News about the tradition.
"In the early days, it was common for Kurds to exchange apples adorned with cloves, creating different patterns on the fruit. When I was in Kurdistan last year, I was given a green apple, and asked, ‘Is the apple red or white?'. If my answer was red, it meant a love interest, if white, it meant only platonic. An apple basically helps establish where a person stands in a relationship."
Quoting a reliable private English-language news portal www.eKurd.net, Kadir said that the decoration process of the apple also dates back to ancient tradition among Kurds.
