TRADITION OF AFFECTION; COUPLE LOVES CUPID'S CUSTOMS.

Byline: Erin Gebroe Daily News Staff Writer

When he first saw Valentine's Day marked on a calendar, Gebrail Alyas, who moved here from Iraq, guessed that Valentine was a politician.

Who is this Valentine? Maybe he is the president, Alyas recalls wondering. Now he knows.

Newhall residents Alyas and Muniri Hanna, who have been married for 53 years, consider Valentine's Day one of this country's sweeter traditions. To celebrate, they blend their own customs with American traditions.

While Americans typically reserve Valentine's Day for couples, Alyas and Hanna see it as a family experience.

This year, they are going to their daughter's house to be with her family. They will prepare a Middle Eastern dinner complete with stuffed grape leaves and dishes of lamb and rice, things they enjoy only on special occasions because of the long preparation involved.

The couple also want to call their two daughters who are still in Iraq. But calls, they said, don't always connect.

``The first thing in life should be love between families,'' Alyas said. ``It will be so nice to be together.''

The closest thing to Valentine's Day in Iraq is what is called spring day, celebrated March 21. On that day, families spend time together at luncheons or outdoor picnics, Alyas said.

Alyas, 78, and Hanna, 68, who moved to the United States in 1993, attribute their more than half-century-long marriage to patience and compromise.

``When one side gets sore a little bit, the other keeps quiet for awhile,'' Alyas said. ``I believe this will keep us together until we are separated by death.''

One of the most consistent demands for compromise is money. Alyas calls himself a little miser and says Hanna is more tempted to spend money.

When they are not shopping, the couple hang out at the Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center, where they go almost every day.

Other couples there are feeling the sting of Cupid's arrow, too. Stanley and Josephine Gibbs, who met at the senior center, were married Jan. 30 in Arizona on their way to Laughlin, and Ernie Spencer and Pearl Matheney are saying ``I do'' today.

While Alyas and Hanna maintain Valentine's Day as a family holiday, they have also adopted the American custom of giving gifts. In past years, Hanna has given Alyas shirts, and Alyas has given her flowers and a watch.

Hanna wouldn't say what she is getting Alyas this year.

``She is loving me,'' Alyas said. ``That's enough.''

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PHOTO (Color) Newhall residents Gebrail Alyas, 78, and his wife, Muniri Hanna, 68, will celebrate Valentine's Day with a special family dinner today.

Hans Gutknecht/Daily News