Forget Saint Valentine, Happy Babur Day!

There are no hearts and flowers and candy in Uzbekistan today. An official from a government agency called—True Fact Alert!—the Department for Enlightenment and Promoting Values issued a decree calling Valentine’s Day “alien to our culture” and suggesting that Uzbekis bag the evil Western ritual in favor of celebrating the Moghul emperor Babur’s birthday. All well and good, but it’s hard to fit “Happy Birthday Zahir al-Din Muhammad Babur” on a conversation heart candy.