with love, the thunderbolt White Day: Everything You Need To Know About It

Erika Kita staff writer

Valentine’s Day is a holiday celebrated with couples giving all sorts of gifts including heart shaped chocolate boxes, teddy bears, and red roses. However, in countries like Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and other Asian countries, they have a second day to share the same festivities. The month right after February 14th, also known as Valentine’s Day, follows the lesser known White Day, on March 14th. Media such as popular anime and Korean dramas portray the importance of White Day in Asian countries and how it is celebrated.

Now why is White Day needed when there is already Valentine’s Day? While America and other countries celebrate only Valentine’s Day, where both in the relationship will express their love with gifts, Valentine’s Day in Asia is normally celebrated where only the girl will give to the guy. Then for the guy to reciprocate back, there is White Day where it is the man’s turn to give and express their love to their signifcant other. White Day originated in Japan in 1978, where a confectionery company in Fukuoka marketed marshmallows which turned into “Marshmallow Day” day as the original “answer day”. And since the popularization of marketing white chocolates and marshmallows on this day, the term

“White Day’’ was made in order to give back to their signifcant others.

Although marketing white chocolate was popular during this day, nowadays both dark and milk chocolates are also sold as well. Understandably it should not just be women who have to give on Valentine’s Day, so having this “answer day” is a culture that is well practiced in these Asian countries.

There are other celebrations as well that follow similar traditions to the holiday White Day. A celebration in Korea which follows even after White Day is Black Day. The month after White Day, on April 14th, is Black Day, which is celebrated for those who have not received any chocolates or gifts on either days and for the single individuals. Black Day in Korea is celebrated by eating a bowl of jajangmyeon which are noodles made with a thick black bean sauce, making the name “Black Day”. These unique holidays show how not only happy couples can celebrate being in love but also for the bitter single people who want to eat a bowl of noodles.

All of these traditions that stem from the original Valentine’s Day have been heavily popularized in Asian culture. Should White Day also be celebrated in America and other countries as well? Or, is one day for celebrating love enough?

In everyone’s life it is important to fnd a way to balance these two relationships since they are the most important relationships in your life. Prioritizing one over the other will only cause problems along the way.

Yet even though this is true, it is sometimes hard to put into practice. While it can be hard to fgure it out at frst, there are many ways to maintain a relationship when you already have plans. For example, make sure you don’t force your platonic friends and your romantic partner to hang out with each other since not everyone is going to click; and even when they do, your partner isn’t always going to want to spend time with you and your friends. Don’t cancel plans with a platonic friend in order to spend time with your partner. This is going to hurt your friends’ feelings, and you very well might end up pushing them away.

More than anything, you have to always remember that love is not a zero-sum game. You don’t have to give up one in order to have another; rather, open yourself up to the possibility that you can have many different kinds of love in your life. If you do, you will be much happier in the end.

A senior from Mills High School explains how “Having White Day in America could be problematic. They stated that, “By having the two holidays, and having them both separated by gender, could add to the ongoing problem of gender dysphoria.”

The two separate occasions of giving gifts to one’s signifcant other can also be confusing for those who identify as LGBTQ+ where gender identity can confict with the gender specifed holidays. American or Western culture is, in general, very different compared to some Asian cultures where specifc holidays or celebrations have different traditions and connotations towards Valentine’s Day.

The emphasis of romantic relationships over other relationships in general, is also prevalent throughout American culture. Overall, having a White Day in America, as done in many Asian countries, would most likely not be successful due to a plethora of cultural differences. The variety of celebrations that couples have in Asia is very different compared to American culture and the creativity of the traditions are very impressive. In the end, these holidays are just for fun and are a good way to express love for another person.