Itamae-chan
Konnichiwa mina-san! Genki desu ka?
Welcome to our joint Valentine's - White Day event. This event will run for the duration of February 14th to March 14th. But what is this joint event and why White Day? Well read the two articles below to learn more! heart
Valentine's Day in Japan
Do you have any plans for Valentine's Day? Is there a special way of spending this time in your culture? In Japan, it is only the women who give presents (mainly chocolates) to men. Japanese women are usually too shy to express their love. (Though it might not be true nowadays.) Therefore, Valentine's Day was thought to be a great opportunity to let women express their feelings. However, this is a custom that smart chocolate companies spread to boost their sales, and it has been very successful. Now the chocolate companies in Japan sell more than half of their annual sales during the week before Valentine's Day. Men are supposed to return gifts to women on a day called "White Day" (March 14th), a Japanese creation.
Does it sound good to you? Don't get too excited when you get chocolates from Japanese girls! They might be "Giri-choko (obligation chocolate)." Women give chocolates not only to their loved ones ( "A true love" chocolate is called "Honmei-choko." ) "Giri-choko" is the chocolate given to men such as bosses, colleagues or male friends that women have no romantic interest in, just for friendship or gratitude. The concept of "giri" is very Japanese. It is a mutual obligation that the Japanese follow when dealing with other people. If someone does you a favor, then you feel obligated to do something for that person.
Unlike the West, sending a Valentine's cards is not common in Japan, and the phrase "Happy Valentines" is not widely used. "Happy Birthday" and "Happy New Year" are common phrases. In this case, "Happy ~" is translated as "~ omedetou （ ～おめでとう ）."
What is White Day?
St. Valentine's Day in Japan is a day when women give the special men in their lives boxes of chocolate. To balance out the one-sidedness of this practice, White Day was invented for men to reciprocate such gifts. While Valentine's Day is an imported convention, White Day (on March 14) is a purely Japanese creation.
Just as with the giving of chocolates on Valentine's, the driving force behind the popularization of White Day was a confectionery maker. A company making marshmallows launched a campaign in 1965 urging men to repay valentine gifts with soft, fluffy marshmallows. The name White Day comes from the color of the candy, and at first it was called Marshmallow Day.
When chocolatiers saw the opportunity to expand their business, they began marketing white chocolates, and other candy makers soon jumped on the bandwagon. Gradually, the original association with marshmallows disappeared; today, men no longer limit their purchases to confections, giving women handkerchiefs, accessories, and other gifts.
According to a survey conducted by a Tokyo department store in 1996, the White Day gift that made women happiest was flowers accompanied by a greeting card - regardless of whether the chocolates given a month earlier were for their honmei (true sweethearts) or to fulfill their giri (obligation) to classmates or colleagues.
Just as with the giving of chocolates on Valentine's, the driving force behind the popularization of White Day was a confectionery maker. A company making marshmallows launched a campaign in 1965 urging men to repay valentine gifts with soft, fluffy marshmallows. The name White Day comes from the color of the candy, and at first it was called Marshmallow Day.
When chocolatiers saw the opportunity to expand their business, they began marketing white chocolates, and other candy makers soon jumped on the bandwagon. Gradually, the original association with marshmallows disappeared; today, men no longer limit their purchases to confections, giving women handkerchiefs, accessories, and other gifts.
According to a survey conducted by a Tokyo department store in 1996, the White Day gift that made women happiest was flowers accompanied by a greeting card - regardless of whether the chocolates given a month earlier were for their honmei (true sweethearts) or to fulfill their giri (obligation) to classmates or colleagues.
We'd liked to thank you for visiting our event and apologize for the slow set up but if you stick around we promise there will be plenty to do. We have an adoption contest taking place right now and soon our auctions, raffles and games will open as more of our chefs present their confections for the event. We also have a special guest chef participating in this event, you'll get a chance at a semi-custom Gogo of your very own!
By all means check out the main thread by clicking on the banner below. You'll find all kinds of delicious treats and friendly people. Enjoy! ^^
