Friday, March 14th, 2008
Let’s Expand Our Cultural Horizons!
In Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, today is also known as White Day (Howaito Dē in Japanese — don’t ask why the extra syllable in front of the Japanization of “white;” I can’t figure it out.) And yes, the fact that it’s exactly one month after Valentine’s Day is significant.
You see, Valentine’s Day works a bit differently in Japan. Valentine’s gift giving in Japan is strictly one-way: women giving to men. In 1978, Japan’s National Confectionary Industry Association, seizing on a perfect marketing opportunity, and playing heavily on the Japanese concept of giri, started White Day as a tradition for men to return the favor.
That’s basically White Day in a nutshell. You can find more (read: better) information at the Wikipedia entry or at the Kid’s Web Japan website.
