Happy White Day!

While it sounds like a Christian Nationalist or Confederate holiday, “White Day” is a Japanese romantic tradition — kind of.

Like the Valentine’s Day holiday that falls one month before it, White Day (on March 14th) is a completely fabricated holiday — in this case, one cooked up by Japan’s National Confection Industry Association.

In Japan, Valentine’s Day works a little differently, as it’s considered a day for women to give gifts of chocolate to the men they fancy. On White Day, men are expected to reciprocate, giving gifts of white chocolate, white candy, or white marshmallows to the women who gave chocolate to them.

Oh — and there’s one detail that I’m sure warms the hearts of all the members of the National Confection Industry Association: men are expected to give a reciprocal gift worth two to three times the value of gift the woman gave to them.

While the practice dates back to the 1970’s, it may soon end. The younger generation doesn’t feel compelled to uphold what they see as a sexist or gender-regulated holiday … and now, sales figures for both Valentine’s Day and White Day are steadily declining.

#holidays #Japan #ValentineSDay