February 14 is St. Valentine's Day. In Christian countries this day is observed in honor of the martyr Saint Valentine, and it's also a day for people to send cards decorated with Cupid figures and other gifts to their sweethearts. But in Japan, St. Valentine's Day is slightly different: The only ones doing the giving are females, and they usually send a gift of chocolates to their love interests. This unique custom seems to have its roots in a campaign that a Japanese chocolate manufacturer started in 1958, promoting St. Valentine's Day as "the day women confess their love to a man with a gift of chocolate." The manufacturer sold heart-shaped chocolates at a department store in Tokyo. Only five were sold that first year, but this "Valentine Sale" became more and more popular with each passing year, and the custom of females sending chocolates to males on St. Valentine's Day gradually took root. Today, chocolates are frequently given to members of one's own family. Gift giving on St. Valentine's Day has also become quite common among school friends and colleagues at work. Aside from the "honmei chocolate," the chocolate that girls give to their true sweethearts, girls also hand out "giri (obligation) chocolate" to their male classmates, colleagues, and friends as a mark of their appreciation for the kindness they ordinarily receive. What's more, in Japan St. Valentine's Day is followed up a month later by "White Day," on March 14. This is the day when the men who received chocolates from women on St. Valentine's Day give gifts like candy in return. This is also a custom unique to Japan, introduced and promoted by a Japanese confectionery company. But, perhaps because its history is still short, White Day is not yet as popular as St. Valentine's Day.

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