japanese valentines day

so today is valentines day in japan, a time for department stores to show their unabashed love to their customers by charging 10 bucks for 3 pieces of belgian chocolate or 20 bucks for a single red rose.

actually, im not that bitter to suggest that valentines day is just an excuse for big department stores to sell chocolate. but in japan its rather amusing how they celebrate it. it was first introduced to the japanese after world war 2 because at that time it was the only day where wives could say to their husbands "i love you." japanese couples arent quite as open in their feelings as western couples, and when i say "not quite as," i mean "nowhere close as."

its evolved into a day where the type of chocolate you give indicates how you feel about someone. if a girl really likes a guy, they make chocolates for them at home and wrap it up in a nice pink package. if they just wanna be friends, then they go to the nearest department store and just by some hersheys and pop a bow on it.

but thats the thing...here, only girls give guys gifts on v-day. guys do nothing. its quite nice. the catch is, in true japanese gift giving fashion, in march theres another day called white day where guys who received valentines day gifts from girls reciprocate and buy the girls something. im not sure what that something is just yet but im sure its chocolate coated in some form.