White Day

 Today is White Day in Japan. 

It's a friendly, gift-giving tradition celebrated one month after Valentine's Day. It's a chance for the men who received gifts on February 14th to reciprocate.

White Day started in 1978 by Japan's National Confectionery Industry Association to encourage men to give marshmallows to women as a return gift for the chocolates they received on Valentine's Day. An early nickname for this day was Marshmallow Day, but over time, the name shifted to White Day to include a wider range of white-themed sweets and gifts.

The holiday also reflects the Japanese cultural concept of okaeshi, or returning a gift to show appreciation. An okaeshi gift should be about half the value of the original gift. Okaeshi isn't just for White Day; it is part of Japanese culture. It can get a bit out of hand, you give a gift, get one back, have to return another one and so on!

The idea of White Day started in Japan, but the tradition has spread to other East and Southeast Asian countries, including South Korea, China and Taiwan. 

Like Valentine's Day gifts vary depending on who you are giving them to. Also, in modern times, the gifts aren't just confectionery. Many people give accessories, flowers or small luxury items.

The past week, supermarkets have had big displays for White Day; it's really being marketed. I think part of this is because there are fewer couples than in the past. Young Japanese just don't date or marry. 

But that's a whole other post!

I wanted a picture for this post, but couldn't find anything, so I used AI. Hope you like it!