Chocolate proves love in Japan
Valentine's Day is a holiday for lovers in the United States and other Western countries, but it also has developed into a part of cultures in Asia.
Yukako Ishimaru, a Japanese language professor at Slippery Rock University, said the holiday is all about chocolate in her native country of Japan.
And the burden of giving chocolate on the day falls solely on women.
“It's only women giving chocolate to men,” she said. “Nothing else — no flowers or cards — just chocolate.”
The custom of women giving men chocolate developed in the 1950s, possibly due to a translation mistake by a chocolate company.
Ishimaru said the standard of chocolate correlates to one's romantic interest.
“If a woman is interested in a man, it becomes serious chocolate,” she said.
Many girls and women will make homemade chocolate treats to give to their love interest.
“It's full of heart,” Ishimaru joked.
But some of the chocolate exchanged is not a gesture of romance. Ishimaru said people also will give lesser chocolates to friends, co-workers, classmates and family members.
“We give out sympathy chocolate to friends we think might not get any,” she said.
Children will sometimes try to sneak chocolate into school on the holiday to give to their crushes and peers. It's something Ishimaru said isn't allowed in Japanese schools.
“That's a no-no in Japan,” she said.
Before coming to teach in the United States, Ishimaru taught junior high school in Japan and remembers having to check students backpacks to confiscate the treats.
Any chocolate found could be taken by the teachers for themselves.
“So it's a fun day for teachers,” she said, laughing.
While women must give out chocolate on Valentine's Day, men have the obligation to respond a month later.
Japan celebrates a holiday called White Day on March 14 — a day men must respond to women who gave them chocolate with a gift of cookies or white chocolate.
Again, the quality of the treat depends on the romantic interest.
“They can be big and expensive, or it can be a sympathy cookie,” Ishimaru said.While Valentine's Day is a day for chocolate, the true romantic holiday in Japan is Christmas.“Christmas in the states is all about family, but Christmas in Japan is for couples,” Ishimaru said. “Couples will go on dates to Disneyland in Tokyo or to fancy restaurants.”Christmas Eve is the traditional date night, she said. It's customary for lovers to exchange gifts on the day.“Japan is not a Christian country, so it's a way to commercialize it,” she said.Valentine's Day is celebrated a little differently in China.Amy Xin, a professor at Butler County Community College, said her native country of China has its own romantic holiday that is similar to Valentine's Day.“The traditional Chinese Valentine's Day is called Qixi Festival which is celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar,” Xin said, adding it is also called Double Seventh Festival.The festival, which will be Aug. 9 this year, celebrates the folk legend of Niu Lang and Zhi Nu — a tale that dates back about 2,600 years.“It commemorates a day on which a legendary cowherder and weaving maid are allowed to be together,” Xin said. “According to the legend, the cowherder star and the weaver maid star are normally separated by the Milky Way but are allowed to meet by crossing it on the seventh day of the seventh month of the Chinese calendar.”Niu Lang, the cowherder, is represented by the star Altair while Zhi Nu, the weaver girl, is represented by the star Vega. Both are among the brightest stars in their respective constellations.The lovers in the tale are separated by the silver river, which is represented in the sky by the Milky Way galaxy.There are multiple variations of the story, but they all result in the two lovers getting to spend one night together per year.Today, common celebrations of the festival include young girls praying to Zhi Nu for sewing abilities and good blessings with love interests.The holiday is more popular in rural regions of China, while people in cities are beginning to celebrate the Western holiday more.“Valentine's Day is celebrated since the implementation of reform and open policy in China, and this holiday is more popular for young people in cities,” Xin said.Just like in the United States, the holiday serves as a time for couples to exchange gifts and have romantic dates.“On Valentine's Day, the lovers will exchange gifts, and usually the male sends the gift first,” Xin said. “The lovers will have dinner on that day or watch movies together to celebrate the holiday.”The gift exchange sometimes marks the beginning of a relationship.“If the female accepts the gift from the male, it means they just establish their relationship as lovers,” Xin said.While the day is a time that people in the country begin romantic relationships, many couples use the date to make the ultimate commitment to love.“In recent years, on Valentine's Day some lovers will choose to get engaged or get married,” Xin said.
