Did you know that Valentine’s Day is also celebrated in Japan? It is a holiday that was borrowed from the West. There are some differences that are listed below that makes Valentine’s Day unique to Japan!
When Did Valentine’s Day Originate in Japan?
Just like in America, Valentine’s Day in Japan is on February 14th every year! According to my research, Japan first celebrated around the 1950s as a company’s marketing strategy. Ever since then, it has slowly gained traction and became the tradition it is today. It is generally perceived as a day for women or girls to show appreciation or love (whether platonic or romantic) to a man in their life but it can be for any person to show appreciation or love to another. It is celebrated by all ages, particularly middle school aged children to young adults.
What Happens on Valentine’s Day in Japan
Of course on Valentine’s Day, it is a day where candy or some other kind of gift is given. It is usually given from a woman to a male in their life. The candy is usually bought or it could be homemade even! The more expensive the chocolate that is bought the more of an expression it can be seen as. Homemade chocolate is especially precious since someone took the time to make it. Valentine’s Day is also celebrated by children in the same way by giving chocolates to their friends and classmates! During Valentine’s Day there are multiple different types of chocolate-giving types out there but for today, we’ll just talk about two of them. I’m not talking about white or milk chocolate either! (Milk chocolate wins all day!)
Giri-choco vs. Honmei-choco
There are many, many, MANY different types of chocolate-giving in Japan! Surprising right! Today we will talk about the two main ones. One of them is called 義理チョコ (giri-choco). 義理 meaning obligation/duty and チョコ meaning chocolate. 義理チョコ (giri-choco) are given to acquaintances and coworkers. The second is called 本命チョコ (honmei-choco) 本命 meaning favorite and チョコ meaning chocolate. 本命チョコ (honmei-choco) is chocolate that is given from a person to another that they feel romantic feelings for. This chocolate is usually more expensive and high quality if it is bought or it could even be homemade.
White Day
Now we cannot talk about Valentine’s Day in Japan without mentioning ホワイトデー (White Day)! I will make a dedicated post about it in the future, but exactly one month after Valentine’s Day, on March 14, is White Day, which is generally the men’s version of Valentine’s Day. It is where the men that received something from a woman gives a gift of appreciation to the person they received it from rather than them giving the gift that same day like in America. Of course it can be celebrated by everyone though.
How to Express Happy Valentine’s Day in Japanese
In conclusion Valentine’s Day in Japan is similar to America’s in many ways but there is a very unique twist. It is always interesting learning about different culture’s ways of celebrating the same holiday! To express to someone else Happy Valentine’s day (Keep in mind this is casually with someone you already know) you would say:
バレンタインおめでとう！
