In the case of Japan, the custom of Valentine’s Day began after the war. We generally give chocolate from women to men:blonde_woman:. Recently men sometimes give to women (I also give it).
Actually, Japanese do not offer chocolate only to loved ones. We will give it to those who are taken care of even for people who do not feel love either. Ironically, saying that as “obligatory chocolate”. Furthermore, there is “White Day” as a unique culture of Japan. It is necessary to repay more than the amount of chocolate received one month later. In this way we are deepening relationships:slightly_smiling_face:.
Why did we become such a culture? That is the success of marketing of Japanese chocolate companies:joy:!
Thank you so much for this post @YasumiKikuchi . For me every time when I see your post is a great pleasure to read it and I like them all.
In Japan Valentine’s Day is celebrated in a very unique style as I remembered. It is the women who present gifts to men. On White Day men are supposed to give return gifts to women who gifted them chocolates on Valentine’s Day. Right?
Here in Bulgaria we also celebrate Valentine’s day. But on the same day there is another holiday - Wine Holiday or as we call it here Trifon Zarezan. It is a day dedicated to the first labor of the year needed when taking care of the vineyards – the cutting of the unnecessary branches at the beginning of February.
However, nowadays, February 14 has been turned into a combined holiday when Bulgarians celebrate their love for their better half, or their love for wine.
Thank you for sharing these pieces of art with us. These chocolats look amazingly beautiful, almost ,if not, perfect!
Your post took me to my childhood when I first got introduced to the Japanese Valentine’s day, and which was through the third film of Sailor Moon. In the animated film, the girls were offering chocolat and homemade cookies to their beloved ones.
In Bulgaria and Morocco, several people are very skeptical about such celebrations, and they say that they don’t need a particular day to show their love to someone else. On the other hand, the ones who are celebrating it, usually go to restaurants or simply enjoy a dinner at home around a bottle of wine.
PS: I love every kind of celebration, as long as there is good food, drink and laugh.
I need to refrain from tagging the moderator, but please continue to subscribe🤗.
As you say, in principle women give men, and White Day reverses♻. However recently, men may give women. We call it “逆チョコ Gyaku choco”. It means “Gyaku = reverse”.
Thank you for letting me know about your wine anniversary in your culture! I feel that your culture is beautiful:national_park:. I think that wine and chocolate have good compatibility:chocolate_bar:
Thank you for reading @BorrisS
Because the culture in which we hand chocolate is so obvious, it is often the subject of animation📺.
Because Japanese are polite to refrain, it is a culture that should not frequently express love😬. Therefore I think that it developed into such a culture. This humility of Japan will be seen strangely in most foreign countries😂
Thank you for the wonderful post. The chocolates on your pictures look so fancy and well made, that they got me wishing I could buy some.
To me as a foreigner, when I started living in Korea, the most noticeable thing was how important romantic relationships are to Koreans. Apart from Valentine’s day, Korean couples tend to celebrate different small couple holidays on the 14th of every month (for example giving each other planners at the beginning of the year, dressing in yellow and giving each other roses or exchanging promise rings). There are three interconnected holidays, two of them similar to the Japanese ones you mentioned - Valentine’s Day (14th of February), White Day (14th of March) and Black Day (14th of April).
In Korea, the 14th of February is when women give presents to their partner or their crush. Then, on White Day, men return the gesture by presenting their loved ones with gifts to prove their requited affection. The last one, which I suppose is unique to Korea, is Black day, when single friends, who did not receive any chocolates or gifts, dress all in black then gather to eat Jjajangmyeon / 짜장면 (Noodles with black bean paste). This dish is considered a comfort food and the black color is meant to represent the gloomy mood of not being a part of a couple.
Thank you for reading @LilyanaZ
Thank you for teaching interesting culture in Korea😃. Because the basic spirituality of Japan is inherited from Korea, the culture that exchanges gifts is very similar. However, love expression seems to be more passionate by Koreans than Japanese people😚!
By the way, is it Black Day? How self-degradation🤣!
Lovely post as always @YasumiKikuchi and the chocolates look amazing!! I can’t wait for Valentine’s day to be over… just so I can check to see how much discounts I can get with the chocolates!! Loving others should be every day anyway… but now with discounted chocolates post Valentine’s!
For yesterday, even if it is made with a heart mark, even if the word of love is written with a chocolate pen, it is cheap and delicious chocolate if it melts!
. Recently men sometimes give to women (I also give it).
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