White Day | |
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Cake of White Day
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Observed by | Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, and China |
Liturgical Color | white |
Date | March 14 |
Next time | 14 March 2017 |
Frequency | annual |
Related to | Valentine's Day |
White Day (ホワイトデー Howaito Dē?) is a day that is marked in Japan, South Korea,, Vietnam, Taiwan, and China on March 14, one month after Valentine's Day.
In Japan, Valentine's Day is typically observed by girls and women presenting chocolate gifts (either store-bought or handmade), usually to boys or men, as an expression of love, courtesy, or social obligation.
On White Day, the reverse happens: men who received a honmei-choco (本命チョコ?, 'chocolate of love') or giri-choco (義理チョコ?, 'courtesy chocolate') on Valentine's Day are expected to return the favor by giving gifts. Traditionally, popular White Day gifts are cookies, jewelry, white chocolate, white lingerie, and marshmallows. Sometimes the term sanbai gaeshi (三倍返し?, 'triple the return') is used to describe the generally recited rule for men that the return gift should be two to three times the worth of the Valentine's gift.