What is “White Day” in Japan?

Edited by Saki

    Valentine’s Day is left behind. If you don’t feel like waiting 11 more months to celebrate your love, with your significant other, white day is here to save you. 

     White day is a Japanese holiday celebrated on March 14th, exactly one month after Valentine’s Day. It is an opportunity for men to repay the kindness they received from their partners in February. By tradition in this amazing country, with a rich history and surprising customs, on Valentine’s Day it is women, who endow men with chocolates, sweets, etc. On the contrary, White Day is all about women, this day they are in the center of attention and they are the ones receiving presents. It is time for men to show gratitude towards their partner. 

    You probably are asking yourself where does the name “White Day” come from? Well, it all began with the most ordinary white marshmallows. In 1965 a marshmallow company launched an advertising campaign encouraging men to repay the favor they receive from girls a month before, by giving them marshmallows. Japanese women loved the idea and so 14th March became The Marshmallow Day. Later on, the celebration was renamed to White Day, since in addition to marshmallows, men began to gift their beloved ones with white chocolate and other sweets. With time the tradition of giving marshmallows started to slowly fade away and men would rather present other gifts such as chocolates, jewelry or white underwear. 

     If you happen to be in Osaka with your beloved at the time of this interesting holiday, don’t miss out on the celebration! This is the only right place to do so. Maybe after eating white chocolate and a romantic day spent together you could head to a bar or a club for some White Day-themed party, It’s definitely something you don’t want to miss out on and can only experience in Japan. And if you don’t have one yet, maybe it will be your lucky day and you will meet someone.

Here are some special events organized for this year’s White Day: