From Valentine's to White Day: A Shift in Romance Trends Takes Center Stage

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We all know about 14 February also known as ‘Valentine’s Day’, but do you know about the 14 of March referred to as ‘White Day’? 

White Day was first celebrated in 1978.

White Day has two origin stories and two previous names linked to each story. One was ‘Answer Day’ and the other was ‘Marshmallow Day’. Japan saw its first Marshmallow Day on 14 March 1977. Due to a lack of popularity, it was renamed for the following year.
White Day was born.

In Japan, Valentine’s Day was mainly an opportunity for girls to express their feelings towards the boy they liked, making it a very one-sided event. Eventually, boys and men started returning the favours they received on Valentine’s Day. 

It became a tradition that men should buy gifts two to three times the value of what they received the previous month. Faithful to its name, most of the items tend to be white: marshmallows, white chocolate, white flowers and white accessories. With time, this special day became popular in many other Asian nations. 

Now that Valentine’s Day is over, some people might long for the rush and excitement procured by the celebration. 

While planning and buying gifts can be a source of nightmare for some, it can also bring satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment to others. If you are part of the latter category and wish there was another official day in the year, not that you would need to wait for an official one, where you can express all your love and gratitude back or again, here is your chance. 

With White Day coming up, it is the ideal time to mention this to your partner and the perfect occasion to learn more about another culture. Do some research about the tradition. Discuss it together to gauge mutual interest. You could potentially incorporate it into your shared life as a couple.

Now, it's not implying that you should force your partner or yourself to buy each other expensive gifts. You could take inspiration from it and adapt it all while respecting its nature and where it comes from. It could be a sweet and simple way to show how much you appreciate your significant other and the effort they put into the relationship. Just enjoy having another day where you can celebrate your love. 

And if love truly is not your thing and you wish you could still have a celebration. I have another date for you straight from South Korea. The 14 of April is Black Day, where single people gather to eat noodles with black bean sauce. 

So think about it and maybe mark the date on your calendar!

Edited by Georgiana Madalina Jureschi

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