Hello everyone,
I hope you are having a wonderful Valentine’s Day.
Valentine’s Day is a special day that is on February 14th every year. Although it was originally a religious holiday, these days it is known as a day of romance and love.
In my time in Japan, I have noticed some differences between how Valentine’s Day is celebrated in Japan and the UK.
In the UK, it is considered a day for couples. If people are together, they exchange gifts such as cards, jewelry and chocolate. After that, most people go to a nice restaurant to have a romantic dinner.
If a person is single, it is an opportunity to show their love to someone. You can give the person you like a letter or some chocolate. However, we usually don’t sign our names on the letter so the person will not know who it came from!
In Japan, Valentine’s Day is also about love and affection, however people do different things. People often give chocolate to their friends, classmates or colleagues.
Sometimes, people are expected to give chocolate to someone who they are not close to. 義理チョコ. Many foreigners who are new to Japan are surprised when they receive chocolate because they think it means love! It is usually women who give chocolate to men whereas in the UK it is the other way. In japan, men give chocolate to women on White Day.
One thing I like about Valentine’s Day in Japan is that people sometimes make the chocolate themselves. I think this is very nice and shows the persons heart.
So, I hope you have a great Valentine’s Day and enjoy eating chocolate!
Abdi
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