I’m sure everyone is familiar with Valentine’s Day, but have you heard of White Day? This is a unique holiday to Japan that takes place on March 14th, one month after Valentine’s Day.
In western countries, Valentine’s Day is a day to celebrate love. I think Americans celebrate all kinds of love – family love, love for your friends, but most of all it’s romantic love.
In Japan, Valentine’s Day is the day for women to express their love to men, and White Day is the day for men to express their love to women. It’s not only romantic love. In fact, it is often seen as an obligation to give men something. It’s very common for women to bring in treats for all the men in their office on Valentine’s Day for example, and for men to bring something in reciprocation for all the women on White Day. Chocolate is traditionally shared.
It seems White Day started as a promotional thing after many women complained that they would gift men chocolates, but it wasn’t reciprocated. So, if you are a women in Japan who feels left out on Valentine’s Day, wait until White Day. Hopefully you’ll be treated to something special!