Celebrating Valentine’s Day and White Day in Japan
Many consider February the love month because of Valentine’s Day. Every 14th of February, the Feast of Saint Valentine is observed in many countries. It began as a liturgical celebration of Saint Valentine of Rome who was said to have been imprisoned for ministering to persecuted Christians and for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry. Legend tells us that Saint Valentine was able to heal the sick daughter of his jailer.
Valentine’s Day was first associated with romance during the High Middle Ages when Geoffrey Chaucer made courtly love popular among his circle of friends. 18th century England saw Valentine’s Day as an occasion when lovers showed their love for each other by giving flowers, confectionery, and greeting cards known as valentines. The tradition of Valentine’s Day is still observed in very similar ways today.
Valentine’s Day in Japan is mostly observed by women who give presents to men, usually chocolates. But not all presents given on Valentine’s Day entail romance.”Giri-choko” (義理チョコ, courtesy chocolate) are chocolates given to men who are either friends, colleagues, or bosses, and these symbolize friendship or gratitude, while “honmei-choko” (本命チョコ, chocolates of love) are given to men when romantic interest is involved.Other popular restaurants and fast food chains are getting into the Valentine’s spirit. For example, Domino’s Japan is offering the “Happy Valentine’s Day Pizza” from February 7 -14. It is a cute heart-shaped pizza topped with tomato sauce, pepperoni, and mozzarella cheese.
In 1977, the Ishimuramanseido confectionery company based in Fukuoka marketed marshmallows to men on March 14 and initially called it Marshmallow Day (マシュマロデー Mashumaro Dē). Several confectionery companies followed suit and began creating white chocolate specially made for March 14, which became known as White Day.This is a relatively young concept that started in Japan in 1978 by the National Confectionery Industry Association as an answer to Japan’s Valentine’s Day tradition. The idea was that on White Day, men who receive either the giri-choko or the honmei-choko on Valentine’s Day should return the favor to the women by also giving them gifts such as marshmallows, white lingerie, jewelry, cookies, and white and dark chocolate.