In Japan, Valentine’s Day was introduced by chocolate manufacturers in the late 1950s. It becomes a commercial festival where women (only they) offer chocolates to men on February 14 of each year. Despite the lack of interest in starting this event, Valentine will finally take root in manners, and inspire many manga like B Gata H Kei.
In a second step, the men who received chocolates on Feb. 14 will have the opportunity to offer women a gift in return, with the creation of white day (ホワイトデー, howaito dē), celebrated on March 14. As of now, the women are receiving white chocolate, jewelry or (white) lingerie. The value of these gifts can be three times higher than chocolates. The absence of a return gift should be considered a sign of unrequited love.
This concept, launched in Japan , has spread to South Korea , Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Besides gyaku choco, which could call into question the need for white day that become popular – to the chagrin of their creators – florists enter the dance. In 2011, the Association of flowers industries (sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries) has launched a campaign called Valentine Flower (フラワー バレンタイン, Furowā Barentain).
Translated and adapted from Wikipedia under GNU Free Documentation License.
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