Valentine's Day 2009 was no exception. But. This year, I got to experience the Japanese Valentine's Day. In Japan, on February 14th, it is customary for girls to give the guys they like chocolates or homemade sweets. The guys, in turn, must return the favor on March 14th, called "White Day". Just to clarify, I'm talking about the general Japanese high school population here. I have no idea whether the adults partake in this frivolity...but whatever. High-pitched, short-skirted, ditzy high school girls make up the vast majority of the population anyway.
I got to school this morning, wearing my perfunctory pink cardigan (I realized too late that I was uber-clashing; I was wearing my painfully bright red jacket over the cardigan. Seriously. My jacket will sear through your corneas). I was suddenly ambushed by maaaybe 13 girls wielding cutesy pink bags containing the most adorable Valentine's sweets I have ever witnessed. Ever. Oh right, I forgot to mention that a lot of girls make "Tomo-choco" (translation: friend chocolates), either because they are too embarrassed to profess their love for a boy through food, or because they just aren't interested in anyone. Works for me - I get a lot of candy. But for real, these things were insane. People didn't just make the usual heart-shaped cookies - they made madeleines, brownies, chocolateflakecrisps (whatever the hell they are), mini chocolate pies, mini cream puffs. Further more, they were all wrapped beautifully - each "serving" of cookie/madeleine/pie/puff was wrapped in its own individual transparent bag (printed with hearts and arrows and cupids and whatnot, of course) and tied with a pretty ribbon. Some even had shredded colored paper inside with the cookies for decoration. WHAT THE HELL. I have two major issues to address here. First, why is everyone so intense and OCD. Second, how does everyone know how to bake delectable Valentine's treats. I think that was my main question. It's one of the many puzzling things about Japan - people seem to have this weird innate knowledge about certain things. It drives me crazy, because most of the time I don't have it.
But anyway. Throughout the day I received about a dozen more aesthetically perfect bags of sweets. I giggled to myself as I recalled the mass-produced Valentine's cards traded at school in the U.S. - you know, the ones with the lame little rhymes on them, complete with a mini box of Nerds or something attached. Hardy har har. The difference between the two cultures is kind of ridiculous...honestly though, I'm not sure which I prefer. I mean, sure, the homemade sweets are incredible, but...being one of the few people who didn't bring anything in (I was studying for a math test! ......ha), I just felt really bad just eating all the food. I think a bunch of Japanese traditions are explicitly designed to make people feel bad. Or guilty. Or just fat.
Eh. I didn't feel that bad, though. In the end: Stomach > Conscience. I'm really glad that I've never had a romantic Valentine's Day standard for myself - it makes the holiday a lot more fun. Instead of freaking out over how I would give my chocolates to the Homeroom Cutie, or just being superbly bitter over my lack of love, I simply sat back and enjoyed the scrumptious storm my classmates had baked up. At no cost, mind you.
All in all, it was a very pleasant V-Day. :)
