Sunday, February 21, 2010
Japanese Valentine's day
The Japanese Valentine's Day is an interesting concept. I wonder how widely it is actually practiced? In the States, children may give each other candy in school but once we grow older the exchange of gifts is really only between people in a relationship or with family members. In contemporary capitalist societies, no one is free from the grip of marketing. If a society allows its holidays to be dominated by business, then it is no surprise that people will engage in the socially sanctioned behaviors set by the corporations. On the personal level, however, one chooses their own modes of involvement. So, regardless of the traditional standards of behavior, be it propaganda or otherwise, the individual decides whether to participate or not. If I were in Japan during Valentine's Day/White Day, I would love to participate in the festivities.
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It is widely practiced! V-Day is not for children but for everybody! e.g., a wife gives a chocolate (ほんめい？？ぎりチョコ？？？ *o*)to her husband, female office workers give cocolates to their male co-workers/bosses.
ReplyDeleteWell it may be practiced, but it sounds like it is nowhere near the level that it is done in Japan. I know that in high school I did almost nothing for Valentine's Day, and even this year I didn't do much. I think that in Japan it would be a lot more fun since so many more people are getting gifts.
ReplyDeletethe activity of Japanese valentine's day is actually huge. Many people join it. Japanese people like to follow what others tend to do. They do not like individual.
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