What do you usually do on Valentine’s Day in your country?

I think one of the big pluses of the influx of foreign people to Japan over the last fifty years has been that school students have been able to scratch the surfaceof foreign cultures.  In particular, they are always quite surprised to hear from an ALT (Assistant Language Teacher) or similar that Japan does Valentine’s Day backwards.  That is to say,  whereas Japanese women give presents to men,  in western countries it is the other way round.  In general, I think British men give chocolates and possibly flowers, although the latter are rather expensive. Husbands or lovers with a little more money may well take their loved out to dinner but, since the covid pandemic, I venture to suggestthis custom has been put on hold.

We do not have a ‘White Day,’ and I am still surprised by the number of young Japanese students who believe that this day is a part of traditional Japanese culture. In reality,  as you all know, it was created by chocolate manufacturers to maximize profits by exploiting peoples’ feelings.  (There is a cynical statement for you!). I also find that some junior high school students don’t always know the names of the various kinds of chocolates that one can give as gifts during this season. I am talking about things like tomo-chocolate and giri-chocolate.  Nor do they realize that these days many women, especially office ladies, intensely dislike the custom of giri-chocolate. Fortunately for them, the practice is being phased out in many workplaces.

I always tell my students to buy me Buri-chocolate. For some reason they find this amusing..