Point of interest: バレンタインデー

Around the world, ways of celebrating Valentine's Day vary, and Japan's is especially unusual, in that the custom is for females to give chocolates to male co-workers! The chocolate tradition arises from the fact that Valentine's Day was first introduced to Japan by a chocolate company, but the origin of the idea of females being responsible for the gifts is not clear - one theory is that it was due to a translation error in early chocolate marketing campaigns!

Today, the chocolate given is given the name

ぎり

義理

チョコ, which literally means 'obligation chocolate', but might more helpfully translated as 'obligatory-gift chocolate'. 義理 is a very central concept in Japanese culture, and refers to the idea of duty or obligation (to one's superiors, peers or society). 義理 contrasts with

にんじょう

人情

or 'human emotion', and the dichotomy between the two is a very common theme in traditional Japanese drama. A common social theme in modern Japan is that the

しんじんるい

新人類

, the 'new generation', is much more individualistic, and less concerned with obligation to society.

Of course, in some cases the chocolate being given might be accompanied by a real sense of romance, in which case it is known as

ほんめい

本命

チョコ ('true feeling chocolate'). Friends may also exchange

とも

友

チョコ, 'friend chocolate'.

To even up the score, uniquely in Japan, Valentine's Day is followed exactly one month later by White Day (ホワイトデー), when males who received chocolate should return the favor, this time typically in the form of gifts. The generally-accepted rule is

さんばいがえいし

三倍返し

, 'three times return' - the gifts returned should be worth three times as much as the gifts received!

Japan also has an entirely separate holiday for romance -

たなばた

七夕

, the Tanabata Festival, which more closely mirrors the Western concept of Valentine's Day.