Monday, March 14, 2005
minna-san!
Today's 14th March! HAPPY WHITE DAY!!!!!!!!!!
Well, if you don't know what White Day is, read on to be enlightened. How I got to know about White Day was actually through Momiji from Fruits Basket. Remember how he took Tohru to the onsen and sang his infamous onsen song, "Teru Teru Momiji"? Kawaii~~~
On to the origin of White Day:
St. Valentine's Day on 14th February in Japan is a day when women give men chocolates. These gifts of chocolate are divided into two types: giri choco(obligatory chocolate) and honmei choco(chocolate for the man the woman is serious about/true sweethearts). Giri choco is given by women to their superiors at work as well as to other male co-workers/friends.
To balance out the one-sidedness of this practice, White Day was invented for men to reciprocate such gifts. While Valentine's Day is an imported convention, White Day (on March 14) is a purely Japanese creation.
Just as with the giving of chocolates on Valentine's, the driving force behind the popularization of White Day was a confectionery maker. A company making marshmallows launched a campaign in 1958 urging men to repay valentine gifts with soft, fluffy marshmallows. The name White Day comes from the colour of the candy, and at first it was called Marshmallow Day.
When chocolatiers saw the opportunity to expand their business, they began marketing white chocolates, and other candy makers soon jumped on the bandwagon. Gradually, the original association with marshmallows disappeared; today, men no longer limit their purchases to confections, giving women handkerchiefs, accessories, and other gifts.
*information taken mainly from http://web-jpn.org/kidsweb/calendar/march/whiteday.html
So then, enjoy your White Day. Demand a marshmallow or white chocolate from your boyfriend and/or guy friends. ^__^
himitsu @ 12:29 AM.
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