Valentine's Day is coming up really soon and I'm super excited! Every year I make chocolates and tons of desserts for my special someone, and today I'm making a post all about some amazing Valentine's Day ideas I found.
What is Valentine's Day in Japan?
Valentine's Day in Japan is celebrated a little bit differently than here in the west (and frankly I think it's way more fun!). In Japan women make or buy chocolate for men & women that are close to them, be it friends, relatives, or their significant others. There are 3 types of chocolate that symbolize how the woman views their relationship to each person they give chocolate to. There is honmei choco which is meant for someone they feel seriously about as it is romantic chocolate. They can give this to their crush (which would be pretty much a declaration of love) or their boyfriend/husband. Then their is giri choco which is obligatory chocolate. This chocolate is meant for friends, coworkers, family who they consider worthy of chocolate, but have no romantic attachment to (if a guy receives giri choco from a girl he likes, he might be disheartened). Lastly there is tomo choco which is meant for female friends (tomo as in tomodachi, meaning friends).
What differentiates these chocolates is how elaborate they are. Honmei choco is very elaborate and large, and should typically be made by hand to show the amount of dedication the girl has for the one she cares about. If she buys honmei choco her crush might not be very impressed with her, it's sort of like buying a birthday cake for someone as opposed to making it from scratch. Giri choco of course can be handmade or store bought without much concern as it is just a polite formality for the holiday. If you buy something too elaborate those you give it to might take it the wrong way, thinking that it's more of a honmei choco that just giri choco. And of course tomo choco can be done any way you like, friends have an understanding that you are dedicated without exasperating yourself. It can be bought or handmade, but it still should never be as complicated and elaborate as a honmei choco.
What Do Girls Get?
Ladies, unfortunately in Japan you get nothing on February 14th! They have to wait until White Day which is March 14th, where those who received honmei chocolates reciprocate with a gift. Ladies luck out of course as they receive a concept of triple the return (sanbei gaeshi) where instead of chocolate they might receive cookies, white chocolate, or more intimate gifts like jewelry, lingerie; the typical gifts a girl in the west expects on Valentine's Day.
I Don't Live in Japan
Now I'm all for celebrating love two times a year (well to be honest Christmas is also a romantic holiday in Japan) but I don't really do the White Day thing here in Canada. Rather I make a ton of chocolate and desserts for my boyfriend as well as some simple chocolates for my family (keeping with the honmei/giri tradition). We exchange gifts on Valentine's Day, but I love making desserts for him as the way to a man's heart is through his stomach! Maybe you could take a vein from Japan and make some extra special homemade desserts!
Keep reading for some awesome ideas that I'll be doing this Valentine's Day!
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