A Different Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day in the Philippines is an important celebration of LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! Though it's not a national holiday, it's a day where people share or confess their love to their family, sweetheart, spouses, friends, and to people who they really care about. You will know everyone's at it because they will greet you "Happy Valentine's Day" or "Happy Hearts' Day" and other similar greetings. There are also many heart stuffs everywhere, not only in the malls and restaurants, you can also see them in some classrooms or offices. Radio stations and local TV channels also showcase Valentine greetings. It's not really big like Christmas or New Year, but because of LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, that's what it makes it BIG.

However, in Japan, it's quite different. I'm always excited to know how they celebrate holidays and events. That's why I would always ask students what they think about it or what they do during that day--just like what I did last Christmas and New Year. So for this time, the Valentine's Day.

Some students say that Valentine's Day is the day for young girls-- in elementary to high-school-- to confess their feelings to the guy who they like. And they wait for the response on White Day, which is on March 14th, which is a day for the guy's turn to return the chocolates that they received on Valentine's Day or to give a response to the confessed feelings of the girl. Sounds weird right? Why not respond to it on the same day?

I found an article from Japan Today's Lifestyle section that tells also about Valentine's Day in Japan. Let me write it for you here:

Lots of chocolate, but little love on Valentine’s Day in Japan

Ah, Valentine’s Day. That most romantic of times is just around the corner. That means roses and chocolates, right?

Wrong. Guys, take note. If you get lots of chocolates from women in your office on Valentine’s Day, don’t get the wrong idea. They don’t all love you. They might not even like you. It’s probably “giri-choco” (obligation chocolate), a custom that bemuses foreigners (and foreign media) each year at this time.

Love has very little to do with Valentine’s Day in Japan, and it’s been that way for a long time.

So who took the love out of the day?

The confectionery companies, of course. Morozoff reportedly introduced Valentine’s Day to Japan in 1936 and again in 1952, but Mary Chocolate claims to have got the ball rolling in 1958, which is the first time, according to the company, chocolate was sold in Japan for Valentine’s Day. The gifts were promoted as “lover’s day” treats at a counter in Isetan department store in Shinjuku. But marketers quickly realized that Japanese men did not have a tradition of giving chocolates to their sweethearts, so they hit upon the idea of promoting the day as an occasion when women could give chocolates to the men in their life.

But then they took it a step further. Since each customer buying chocolates for one boyfriend or husband wouldn’t result in many sales, they packaged Valentine’s Day as a way to show appreciation for all the men in a girl’s life, including male coworkers. Nowadays, it’s not unusual for some women to buy a small chocolate for each guy in her office.

However, love hasn’t been completely abandoned on Valentine’s Day. Besides “giri-choco,” there is “honmei-choco” for the real thing.

How popular is the custom, anyway? In 2010, online researcher Macromill polled working women on their attitudes toward giving chocolates. Of the 515 responses from Japanese women aged 20-39, 78% said they always buy chocolates for Valentine’s Day. Of them, 71% give chocolates to their husbands and/or boyfriends, 48% to their bosses, 44% to male family members and 37% to coworkers. The two most common reasons for continuing the custom of “giri-choco” were: “It contributes to smooth communication in the workplace” and “It will get me a better evaluation at the company.”

Now, lest you think all this is unfair for women, the marketing gurus, in all their wisdom, then came up with White Day on March 14 — meant to be an occasion when men reciprocate with something sweet. The origins of White Day are also open to debate, but the custom can be traced back to 1965, when it was introduced by a marshmallow manufacturing company to drive up sales of its sugary product. By the 1980s, white chocolates replaced marshmallows as the preferred gift, but since then, candy, flowers—even underwear—have become popular presents. Whatever the item, it is known in Japanese as “sanbai-gaeshi” (triple value) because it is supposed to be three times greater than the value of the chocolates the guy got on Valentine’s Day.

Whether it is “giri-choco or “honmei-choco,” Valentine’s Day is big business in Japan. According to the Chocolate & Cocoa Association of Japan, of the 406 billion in annual sales of chocolate in 2010, approximately 53% came during the month leading up to Feb 14. It is not unusual for confectionery companies to spend the bulk of their yearly marketing budget on Valentine’s Day.

Just as they do with Halloween and Christmas, retailers begin their Valentine’s merchandising campaigns well in advance, often in mid-January. From Feb 1 and even earlier, department stores, supermarkets and convenience stores set up huge red displays full of goodies. Some department stores, such as Takashimaya in Nihonbashi and Mitsukoshi in Ginza, for example, dedicate an entire floor to gift chocolates, with up to 50 brands represented. The stores predictably give their campaigns French names names like “Amour du Chocolat!” or “Mont d’Amour.”

In recent years, the European brands have conquered Japan. During their campaigns, department stores often bring the chocolate makers from Europe to be on hand to talk with shoppers and give chocolate-making demonstrations. Department stores also report that in recent years, there has been an increasing number of women who buy expensive chocolates for themselves, rather than for men.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/lifestyle/view/lots-of-chocolate-but-little-love-on-valentines-day-in-japan

From that article we would see a glimpse of the Japanese Valentine's Day. Not so romantic compared to here and more of an obligation for some. I asked some students if what day is romantic, they would say it's Christmas Day. I learned before (maybe I haven't talked about it last December) that Christmas Day is more of like a day for the couples, thus romance and sweetness is associated with that day and not so much on Valentine's Day.

Some curious students also asked me if we (Filipinos) celebrate Valentine's Day as a religious event. I told that though Valentine's Day is a commemoration of a saint we don't celebrate Valentine's Day as a religious event. It's a day where we commemorate the big L-O-V-E.

Others asked what would I do on this day or would I receive any thing special, I told them that I would just work, work, work, thus a normal day for me. LOL

I always have fun talking with students about events, especially about events that are differently celebrated in Japan. They give me a tour about Japan with their experiences, opinions, and their practices. They even give me more information compared to online encyclopedias and books. This is indeed one of the perks working as an HBOET.

I'm still in the middle of my shift. I still have four more lessons to go, that means four more students to torment with the Valentine fever in me. hehehe

Happy Valentine's Day again! XOXO