White Day - March 14

What's the meaning of this event?
White Day, March 14, as opposed to Valentine's Day, is a completely Japanese event. While women give gifts to men on Valentine's Day in Japan, on White Day, men should return the favor and give gifts to women from whom they received gifts or chocolate, or to women in whom they are romantically interested.

Are there objects associated with this event?
Although White Day is not as big as St. Valentine's Day, many people still send various gifts. For White Day, cookies, candies or white chocolates are common instead of regular chocolates. There is a superstition amoung some young people that if someone gives you cookies, that means "I love you;" candies mean "I like you," and white chocolate means "Let's be friends." Other gifts usally given along with food are jewelry, handbags, shoes, wallets, scarves, handkerchieves, and stuffed animals. Some men, just as in America, give lingerie to their girlfriends.

What do people do on this day?
As on St. Valentine's Day, on the day of or before White Day, we can see many couples enjoying going out together around town. They often go shopping, see movies, or dine at fancy restaurants.

In spite of the popularity of St. Valentine's Day among children, boys rarely return gifts to girls on White Day. Therefore, mothers whose boys are in elementary schools or kindergartens buy cookies or candies, and give them to the girls who gave chocolates to their boys.

Date last modified: Tuesday, 05-Mar-2002 16:50:02 EST
Copyright 2002 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
This page's URL: http://web.mit.edu/jpnet/holidays/Mar/whiteday.shtml
Report any problems with this website here.