Original source :
http://www.todayifoundout.com
Posted : February
2013
Author : Noreen
1. Japan
In this
part of the World, it’s all about spoiling your man on Valentine’s day and not
the other way around like in most Western cultures. Japanese women are usually
said to be reserved and shy when it comes to expressing their affections with
lovey-dovey gestures. However, on this day, the women are in the forefront
presenting the men (and sometimes even female friends) in their lives gifts
(mostly chocolates), to express either their love, courtesy or social
obligation.
This custom of gifting
chocolate in Japan on February 14th, was first introduced in 1936 by a
Kobe-based confectioner ‘Morozoff Ltd.’, when it ran the first ever Valentine’s
Day ad in Japan through a local English newspaper, with the intent of targeting
foreigners that were used to celebrating the holiday of love. By the 1950′s
other Japanese chocolate manufacturers joined in and started promotions to
boost their chocolate sales on that day and a department store called ‘Isetan’,
even started a “Valentine’s Sale”
in 1958. In the 70′s a new promotion concept caught on… gifting different types
of Valentine’s chocolates to express the nature of one’s relationship intent
without the need for words.
The different types
of chocolates signified different relationships- A woman may gift ‘giri-choko’
(義理チョコ) that literally translates to ‘obligation
chocolate’, to men without any romantic interest (like bosses, colleagues,
class-mates, brothers, fathers and close male friends). ‘Chō-giri choko’ is a step
down from that and is referred to as “ultra-obligatory” chocolate. It is a cheaper
chocolate reserved for people the woman isn’t even particularly fond of, but
feels obligated to gift something to so they don’t feel left out, say an
unpopular co-worker, for example. Then on the other end of the spectrum,
there’s ‘honmei-choko’ (本命チョコ) meaning ‘favorite
or true feeling chocolate’, that is specially gifted to boyfriends, lovers or
husbands. For a show of extra love or interest, the ‘honmei-choko’ may be
home-made by the women themselves and the receivers are deemed very lucky men.
Lastly, a more recent type of chocolate has popped up ‘tomo-choko (友チョコ), ’tomo’ meaning “friend”, which is gifted to the woman’s female
friends.
While on
Valentine’s Day itself the men sit back and enjoy the treats presented to them
by women, in the 1980′s the Japanese chocolate companies again came up with yet
another successful campaign (and an obvious way to sell more chocolate) called ‘White
Day’. Initially called “Ai ni Kotaeru White Day” meaning ‘Answer Love on White
Day’, March 14th has since become the customary day for men to reciprocate
their feelings to those who gave them chocolates on Valentine’s Day. They do so
by presenting women with gifts (like lingerie, jewelry, clothing etc.) and
chocolates that are at least two or three times more valuable (an unspoken
rule) than the one’s they received from them on Valentine’s Day. The name
‘White Day’ is said to have been chosen because it signifies purity and has
become the popular color of choice for the boxed chocolates and other
confections gifted on that day.
2. South Korea
Adapted from the Japanese tradition
of Valentine’s Day, women in South
Korea too, spoil their men with chocolates
on this day. In return, they receive gifts on ‘White Day’ from men in a similar
fashion as in Japan.
However, it doesn’t end there. They have taken the Valentine’s traditions a
step further and introduced what they call “Black Day”. On the April 14th, a
month after ‘White Day’ the single people who didn’t receive any lovin’
(chocolates or gifts) on Valentine’s Day or White Day for that matter, have
started an informal tradition of meeting up at restaurants to eat ‘jajangmyeon’
(자장면 ), a dish made up of white Korean noodles
with a black bean sauce, referred to as black noodles. Some say this tradition
of eating black noodles with other single friends is a celebration of the
single life, while some see it as is more of a consolation dinner or mourning
of being single. That said, South Koreans are a romantic bunch and have
practically marked the 14th of every month to signify some sort of ‘Love’
related day. January 14, kicks off with Candle Day; February 14- Valentine’s
Day; March 14- White Day; April 14- Black Day; May 14- Rose Day; June 14- Kiss
Day; July 14- Silver Day; August 14- Green Day; September 14- Music Day;
October 14- Wine Day; November 14- Movie Day; December 14- Hug Day.
3. Taiwan
In Taiwan, the Japanese/South Korean
tradition of Valentine’s Day and White Day is reversed in the sense that, men
gift women chocolates and gifts on Valentine’s Day whereas the women
reciprocate and return the favor by gifting men chocolates on White Day.
4. Denmark & Norway
Largely imported from the
west ‘Valentinsdag’ as it is known or Valentine’s Day was not very widely
celebrated here until more recently. However, they have still managed to come
up with their very own quirky little tradition, that locals have embraced and
made popular on this day. “Gaekkebrev” are funny little poems or rhyming love
notes that men send to women anonymously on Valentine’s Day, giving them only a
clue as to the number of letters in the senders name, represented by a dot for
each letter. The recipient must then guess who sent her the card. If she
guesses correctly she wins an Easter Egg on Easter later that year and if she’s
stumped as to who her secret admirer was, she owes him an egg instead which is
collected on Easter.
5. Slovenia
The 14th of February in Slovenia, marks
the first working in the fields. St Valentine or ‘Zdravko’ as he’s better known
there, is one of their patron saints of spring. There’s a Slovene proverb that
goes “St Valentine brings the keys of roots”. As such, it’s an auspicious day
to start working in vineyards and fields as usually around this time of year one
starts noticing the revival of plants and flowers. The people of Slovenia also
have a belief that the birds of the fields propose to their loved ones and get
married on this day (simply put, it’s the mating season for some birds), and to
witness this one must walk barefoot through the field on sometimes still frozen
ground. So, while this day is significant in the agricultural community in Slovenia, it
isn’t until March 12, on Saint Gregory’s Day, that the majority of people
celebrate their annual day of love. They also consider February 22 (Saint Vincent’s Day) and 13 June (the patron of love
Saint Anthony’s Day) days to celebrate love.
6. Finland & Estonia
Here Valentine’s Day is
more a celebration of friendship rather than a romantic love fest. February
14th is called “Ystävän Päivä” in Finnish and Sõbrapäev in Estonian, which
literally translates to “Friend’s Day”. People exchange cards & gifts among
friends with the greeting of “Happy Friends Day”. It is however, a popular day
to tie the knot or get engaged.
7. Wales
The
Welsh celebrate ‘St. Dwynwen’s Day’ (the patron saint of lovers) on January
25th, which is their equivalent to Valentine’s Day. Legend goes that Dwynwen,
daughter of King Brychan Brycheinog lived in Anglesey,
in the 5th century and fell in love with a young man named Maelon. As all
legendary love stories go, tragedy struck when the two were unable to be
together (for reasons not entirely known, as the word of mouth story varies –
some say she was raped by Maelon, while others state her father disapproved of
the union and had her betrothed to someone else). Whatever the reasons, she was
said to be distraught and fled into the woods where she encountered an angel
who gave her a potion to cool her love for Maelon. The potion however, did more
than just that, Maelon was turned into a solid block of ice. Further distraught
by this icy addition to her problem, Dwynwen prayed and God (some versions say
the angel) granted her 3 wishes. She is said to have wished for Maelon’s
release from his icy tomb, secondly, that God watches over all true lovers and
helps them realize their dreams and hopes or guides them through their sadness
and love, and lastly, that she never marries. After being granted her wishes
Dwynwen retreated to a life of dedication to the Church as a nun on the Island of Llanddwyn.
On this Welsh
Valentine’s Day, it is customary to gift love-spoons, an age old tradition that
got started when Welsh men (possibly originating among sailors), would carve
intricately decorated spoons of wood and would present them to a lady that they
were interested in courting or marrying. The designs they carved on the spoon
handles were symbolic too. For example- Keys would signify a man’s heart,
wheels his hard work and beads, his preferred number of offspring and so on.
This tradition is carried on even today, as men gift their ladies spoons.
8. England
8. England
In the 1700′s, on the eve of Valentine’s day single women in
England used to place/pin five bay leaves, one at each corner of their pillows
and one in the center, with the belief that it would bring them dreams of their
future husbands. Another variation of this tradition was to sprinkle bay leaves
with rosewater and lay them across their pillows saying “Good Valentine, be
kind to me, In dreams let me my true love see”. Now mostly considered folklore,
this tradition is not widely practiced anymore but can still be seen once in a
while.
9. Norfolk, England
9. Norfolk, England
Along with traditional Valentine’s Day customs of cards
and flowers and romance, the people of Norfolk in the East of England, have a
Santa Clause of sorts that goes by the name ‘Jack Valentine’ and sometimes
known as Old Father Valentine or even Old Mother Valentine.. This lovable but
mysterious character is said to knock at little children’s doors on Valentine’s
Eve and sneakily leaves them little treats and small presents. Although it
isn’t quite known when or how this tradition got started, it’s still quite
popular for generations of parents to continue what their parents had once done
for them.
10. France
Dubbed one of the most romantic
countries in the world, it comes as no surprise that France too houses a strange
Valentine’s Day tradition. Their most popular tradition was called “une loterie
d’amour” that translates to “drawing for love”. This practice involved single
men and women of all ages to enter houses that faced opposite each other and
take turns calling out to one another until they were paired off. If the men
didn’t like their match, they would simply leave the woman for another man to
call. As part of the tradition, the women that didn’t get matched up, got
together for a big ceremonial bonfire in which they tossed pictures &
objects of the men who rejected them, whilst swearing and hurling curses at the
opposite sex. This tradition truly exemplified the phrase “Hell hath no fury
like a woman scorned!”, so much so, that French government officially banned
the practice all together because of how rowdy and uncontrollable the whole
event usually got.
~Blog Admin~
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