So what’s the difference between the USA’s Valentine’s Day and how it is celebrated in some parts of Asia? While in the USA it is only one day, in Asia they separate it into two different days.
Thanks to a concentrated marketing effort, Valentine’s Day is celebrated in some Asian countries with Singaporeans, Chinese and South Koreans spending the most money on Valentine’s gifts. In South Korea, similar to Japan, women give chocolate to men on February 14, and men give non-chocolate candy to women on March 14 (White Day). On April 14 (Black Day), those who did not receive anything on the 14th of Feb or March go to a Chinese restaurant to eat black noodles (자장면 jajangmyeon) and “mourn” their single life. In China, the common situation is the man gives chocolate, flowers or both to the woman that he loves. In Republic of China (Taiwan) the situation is the reverse of Japan’s. Men give gifts to women in Valentine’s Day, and women return them in White Day.
In the 1980s the Japanese National Confectionery Industry Association launched a successful campaign to make March 14 a “reply day”, where men are expected to return the favour to those who gave them chocolates on Valentine’s Day, calling it White Day for the color of the chocolates being offered. A previous failed attempt to popularize this celebration had been done by a marshmallow manufacturer who wanted men to return marshmallows to women.
Men are expected to return gifts that are at least two or three times more valuable than the gifts received in Valentine’s Day. Not returning the gift is perceived as the man placing himself in a position of superiority, even if excuses are given. Returning a present of equal value is considered as a way to say that you are cutting the relationship. Originally only chocolate was given, but now the gifts of jewelry, accessories, clothing and lingerie are usual. Sometimes the term sanbai gaeshi (三倍返し?, literally, “triple the return”) is used to describe the generally recited rule that the return gift should be two to three times the cost of the Valentine’s gift.
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