For those who are not familiar with the way Valentine’s Day works in Japan, let me say it is so much better than in the states where the guys have to go out and get chocolates and/or flowers for their wives and girlfreinds. In Japan the girls give the guys in their lives (almost all of them!) a gift of chocolates. And in Japan where there are so many kinds of chocolate it is a real treat. Being a teacher and school owner, I usually get a large number of boxes of chocolates and cookies from my female students. They are all so gracious. Now, part of this whole process is the process of returning something to the giver of the Valentine’s chocolates and that is called White Day and happens a month later in March. For that day I have to prepare a lot of presents of chocolate or another gift to give back to my students. So, as you can imagine, it’s very good for the Japanese economy and especially for the chocolatiers in Japan. (Oh, by the way the pictures shows only half of the boxes I got since I ate the first ones before I thought to take a picture!)
Soooo sweet!! Al, SSE Okamoto
Al,
I get chocolate from many female students at my school too. I keep track of who gives me some, and like you, give them back something for White Day.
I’ve got lots of delicious chocolate waiting to be eaten. Great!
Derek
SSE Tsukaguchi
Al,
Nice chocolates. I got the same, very fancy chocolate balls last year from a student. Delicious. What are you going to give your students on White Day?
Edward, SSE Ohtsu
Edward,
I am thinking about that now. I think chocolate is not so good. There must be something better such as nice handkerchief or something. Any ideas?
Al
Al,
Try to give something from the U.S.A. to your students for white day! Get some nice herbal tea bags or some american snacks, such as sesame snaps or granola bars or something healthy and different from what they would normally get. I believe they usually enjoy that kind of thing. Even though Valentine’s Day in Japan is quite different from Canada, at SSE Ohtsu I gave my students love hearts and mint chocolates on Valentine’s Day.
Edward, スミス英会話大
Hi Al,
As a North American girl living in Japan, I’m sorry to say I can’t totally agree that it’s better than in the west!! However, my strong points are my optimism and my problem solving skills, so I have come up with a solution, which I believe is a true blending of cultures!
For all you western girls living in Japan…celebrate valentine’s Day the western way…true romance at its finest…and celebrate White Day the Japanese way!!! Compromise!!! Isn’t it great?
Edward,
That is a great suggestion. I will try to do that.
Thanks Carol. It is an interesting compromise but doesn’t that mean that the girls will get chocolates etc. twice?