White Day- A Mirror to Japanese Valentine’s Day
If you are following us closely then by now you know Japanese Valentine’s day is a bit different from the Valentine’s Day that we all observe. Japanese girls give out chocolates to Japanese guys to express their love interest. No doubt, that is a very nice idea. But hey, what about guys? Do you think Japanese guys never express their love interest? Or do they not need such a beautiful occasion to express their love to Japanese women?
They do. And hence, they have ‘white day’. White day is an exclusively Japanese event when Japanese boys give chocolates to Japanese girls to express their love interest. In this sense, white day is a mirror to Japanese Valentine’s day as everything is quite the same except the person giving the gift and person getting it switch sides. Please note that it is always better to prepare home-made chocolates rather than buying confectionery ones as home-made ones must express more love! Aye, I sense sort of unfair advantage to girls here.
White day is celebrated on every March 14, exactly one month after the Valentine’s day. The ceremony is held in Taiwan, South Korea and China as well.
The ceremony is, however, not limited to this only. There are a few other things to take note as well. Apart from white chocolates, men in Japan present cookies, jewelry, marshmallows and white lingerie as the symbol of their love as well. However, the list is topped by necklace which is supposed to be the best gift to give a woman on white day. A pretty much interesting thing in this regard is the custom of ‘sanbaigaeshi’ meaning triple the return. This custom means that men are supposed to give triple the amount they have been gifted by women. What a nice idea (though I am not sure if all the male readers are liking the concept)!
It seems a bit strange to have two Valentine’s day event in one year. But if you know why there are these two separate events and see how they complement each other then you have to admire the concept. Got a gift from your woman on Valentine’s day and could not give anything back instantaneously because you decided to ignore the event? Then this is your best chance to rebuild your position. Present her with something beautiful on white day and explain what it means. This will definitely cover up for the earlier fault!
