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Valentines Day and White Day |
Japan has an unusual culture twist to Valentines Day. The 14th February is a day when girls and females present chocolates (either store-bought or handmade) to the boy or male of their choice.
On White Day, men who received chocolate on Valentine's Day return by presenting gifts to women known as the "triple return". The male or boy should give the gift of three times the value of what they received on Valentines Day. It was created in 1980, though many theories stem back further in time. This year seems that traditional Japanese style sweets are gaining in popularity as an alternative gift for February 14th. With custom orders for sweets including green-tea truffles or make at home your own "nerikiri" (paste of rice flour, water, sugar and bean jam) is becoming even more popular with the younger generations. As Valentine's Day is based upon romance, hearts are common among many Japanese confectioneries including heart shaped "senbei" rice crackers. In 2005 the sale of chocolate for Valentines day was a staggering 12 to 13 percent of annual chocolate consumption Japan wide. The traditional Japanese style sweets are especially well received with the older ageing generation compared to western style chocolate. Whether you wish to sample the Armani chocolate with the red dot on top as a cherry flavour or the traditional style mangyu heart shape my wishes to you all for a Happy Valentines day. Send me images of your valentines or white day surprises. XX PHOTO Courtsey of Takashimiya Department Store XX |
