White Day

It doesn't exist in Western countries. Because this day is purely "Made-in-Japan". (Even the term, White Day, is a 和製英語, or wasei-eigo.)

I've wanted to talk about this thing some time ago but I forgot.

In Japan, while on Valentine's Day girls give chocolates to guys (whether they're giri-choco or honmei-choco), guys return the favour by giving back gifts on White Day, which is on March 14, exactly one month after Valentine's Day.

Alright. I'm not here to introduce this day. I'm here to (sort of) criticize it.

No. First thing first: I'm not a sexist. I hate sexists, in fact. While it's reasonable for males to give gifts to females who had given them (males) chocolates on Valentine's Day, for one reason or another (that we can easily guess), the gifts given on White Day are usually expected to be more expansive than those given on Valentine's Day. No, this whole "giving-back day" is not natural. It's made to be so.

By who?
By the Japanese National Confectionery Industry Association, in between 1977 and 1978.

In 1977, a candy company called Ishimura Manseido promoted marshmallows to men on March 14, urging them to return the favour of women. Not coincidentally, and very expectedly, sales of candies got a big boost. Seeing a huge fountain of money coming their way, other candy companies soon jumped on the bandwagon.
Because of this, because of how commercialized this White Day is, it is also called "Hallmark Holiday". (And Valentine's Day is also considered a Hallmark Holiday.)

Not letting go of every single opportunity to make money, companies in Japan exploit the feeling of obligation of men and women to push sales. Don't understand? Think of Mother's Day and Father's Day. During then, don't you feel like there is an "obligation", a "duty", to "present your gift", whatever it is, to your parents? That's what many companies out there are exploiting to increase their sales. Look at their advertisements. They'll tell you how filial you are if you give what and what to your parents as presents. Don't forget that we should care for our parents everyday, not just on those two Days. This is from Wikipedia: "Gift givers often feel pressured to give a gift on those days as told by advertisers or society that one is expected."

I feel lucky, in this case, that I'm not living in Japan. This Valentine's Day and White Day stuff can really give me a heavy headache. Imagine if someone gives you a giri-choco (obligatory chocolate) on Valentine's Day, you must remember to return the favour on White Day, and you can receive tens (or hundreds) of them if you know a lot of people. It's not that nice if you forget to do the same on White Day. If someone gives you a honmei-choco (chocolate for the guy a girl loves), and if you like the girl too, it's fine. But if you prefer that you two remain friends, then it's a headache. If you accept the chocolate, the girl would think that you like her, and you're expected to give her an even more expansive gift on White Day. If you reject the chocolate, the girl might feel sad. This is like... What the heck?!
And not everyone is good at choosing gifts to give to others.

Oh... And why should the gifts given by men to women on White Day be more expansive than the gifts received on Valentine's Day?! No, that's no gender equality at all, no matter how you say it.
Read [this]. And here is a quote from there: "What a complication: not only do men have to remember who bought them what, they have to estimate the value and multiply it by three. The temptation for women in Japan must be to buy every man they know some cheap chocolates on Valentine's Day as an investment. A month later, they could happily sit back as their 300% return of flowers, lingerie, jewellery came flooding in."

Hah...... You see, women expect men to pay the bill, but they make noise when they receive less salary than men. (Just in case you ask me not to generalize, I'm now telling you this is a generalization. So it's perfectly possible that you're not a female such as those, and I'm aware of this.) Yes, it can also be the other way around: because they receive less salary, they expect men to pay more. And no, I do not agree with the idea that women should be paid less. That's ridiculous. And the society is working on it, trying to fight for equality in this sense. But hey, while they're fighting for equal pay, they keep quiet about expecting men to pay the bill. So that they could enjoy the "free services"? I don't know. Just that... If you want equal pay, then pay half of the bill too. If you don't want to, don't expect gender equality.

But do note that:
- not all costs and rewards are financial. (They can be emotional, sexual, physical, etc.)
- not all males like females who insist to pay half. (Some men want to pay everything to demonstrate their financial ability and to feel good. But some other men couldn't bother showing off and might even expect equality.)
- not all males like hard-to-get females. (Some men see women as "prizes", so if they get them too easily, they won't treasure them. However, other men just aren't interested in this game and hard-to-get women really turn these men off.)
- not all males like to confess their love first. (Some guys want to be the first to confess and would see girls who confess first as "cheap" or "scary". But some other guys couldn't care less who is the one to confess first and might even wait.)

In short, there are many types of people. Identify which type your target is before you proceed.

Back to the topic, now you know White Day, do you know Black Day? Oh yeah there is such a day. In South Korea, those who didn't get any gift on Valentine's Day and White Day get together and eat noodles with black bean sauce. Think of Singles Awareness Day (SAD).

What a world.

Japan is really the "Land of Desires". Don't mess with it.