Categories
shopping

Japan doesn’t just celebrate Valentine’s Day. Here’s what they do instead…

Did you know that Japan doesn’t celebrate Valentine’s Day?

Web Watch was shocked to hear this, just as you were we can imagine.  Despite all the marketing that Hallmark and other greeting card companies have done thus far, could you believe that Japan has withstood that barrage of marketing and decided to do their own thing instead?

Pearl Necklace
Pearl Necklace

So what do Japanese celebrate instead, if they don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day?

They celebrate WHITE DAY instead.

First, let’s be clear – Japan still recognizes Valentine’s Day. They just don’t celebrate it in the same manner as the rest of the world tends to do.  Instead of being a holiday where the men fawn all over the women/loved ones in their lives, Valentine’s Day in Japan means that’s the day that Japanese girls give the men in their lives some chocolates or other sweets (referred to as “giri”).

Here’s where it get’s weird.

WHITE DAY is celebrated on March 14th, one month after Valentine’s Day.  That’s the day that men then return the favor, and offer sweets back to their own loved ones.

And that’s where there’s conflict.

Anyone who has readWEB WATCHfor any length of time should already be aware of the many other accolades put upon March 14th:

  • March 14th is also known as 3/14.  Or, in math geek terms, 3.14… or PI DAY.  This is the day that nerds everywhere decide to celebrate by eating pie at exactly 1:59PM.  And if you don’t know why, find your local nerd and ask.
  • And March 14th has been known in some couples’ circles as STEAK AND A BJ DAY. And some thought “White Day” was an unfortunate name.   But the concept is the same as White Day — it’s just a way to turn the tables on your loved ones and return the favors offered one month prior.

So you can see, the Japanese are really no different from the rest of the world in how they celebrate post-Valentine’s Day.  Any time one can share a loving experience with the favorite – it really doesn’t matter what the day is called, does it?

Nope, as long as everyone’s happy – you can call March 14th anything you’d like.