Nothing to see here....

[tikistitch]

....move along!



We know it's not Valentines Day. We just put these up so we can ask our officemate if he can tell what the hearts say. Since, aside from being brilliant, our officemate speaks like 18 languages. On a daily basis! (Hi, Yong!)





We're not even sure this is Chinese. They're made in China, but it might be for the Japanese market.



We sincerely hope it doesn't say, "You suck!"

Comments

[twotone]

They kind of do.

Honmei is the ONE TWOO LOVE that you give extra-special chocolates to on Valentine's Day.

Giri-choco are the chocolates of obligation. You are obliged by society to give chocolates to non-twoo loves, like teachers and bosses and coworkers and classmates and family members.

I dunno whether China also uses this system... I've never been clear on how widespread the Japanese version of Valentine's Day is.

[twotone]

Oh, heh.

"They kind of do" refers to the fact that the second one is labelled Giri, which means "obligation" or, in this case, "You suck, but I have to give you chocolates anyways".

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

So, do they actually present giri-choco on VDay? I thought there was also something that happened on Boys Day. Is that when the boys give chocolate back?

[twotone]

Yes, girls give giri-choco out on Valentine's Day. Sometimes they are deliberately labeled GIRI so that nobody will be confused or get their hopes up; otherwise you're meant to figure things out from the comparative size and fanciness of the chocolates given.

The boys answer the girls' profession of love on White Day, when they give candies to the girls who gave them Valentine's Day stuff. I think doll companies sometimes try and sell White Day dolls (I wanna say both Takara and Volks did this, but Volks might've just done Valentine's Day dolls with the assumption that their sexy Lost Angels appeal to men-folks more than wimmin). I have also read Japanese mens' magazines in which they call White Day "The day that you give the women in your life sexy underwear", so possibly sexy lingerie is also acceptable.

White Day is March 14th, one month after Valentine's Day. I've also heard there's a Pink Day (September 14th) for committed couples, also possibly lingerie-centered.

Boys' Day/Children's Day, alas, is all about the boys and children growing up healthy. No special candy, only mochi and herbal baths and samurai armor.

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

We *definitely* need a new holiday that combines chocolate and samurai armor!! ^_^

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

In case you were wondering, I asked Yong, and he said people definitely give chocolates on VDay in China, but he was a bit puzzled by the whole giri-choco/honmei distinction, and he doesn't know anything about a March 14th underwear holiday. But, he hasn't lived in China in about 10 years, so he warns me he may not be current.

[twotone]

I was specifically wondering about whether China shares the Japanese tradition, where it's only women that give the chocolates on Valentine's Day. I've always thought it kind of convenient for the greeting card/candy makers in Japan that Japan divides up the Western Valentine's Day into two separate dates, one for girls to profess love and one for boys to dole out candy.

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

Well, according to Yong, when he lived in China, VDay was men & women giving each other flowers & chocolate, and there wasn't a separate holiday just for men. He says, "It's possible that it's changed, but they generally do stuff like in the US."

[twotone]

That is good and wise. Japanese Valentine's Day is patronizing and has always kind of bugged me, despite the wonderful manga and anime plots that center around this holiday.

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

I need to explain J-VDay to Gus. He thinks *American* VDay is a big pot of marketing crap.

[twotone]

Key points:

- Starts with the assumption that it is inherently inappropriate for women to profess their love for men

- "February 14th is Valentine's Day, the one day of the year when girls are allowed to profess their love to boys by giving them chocolates!"

- Paradoxically enough, Japanese culture also believes that men do not like sweets, and it is unmanly for men to enjoy things that are sweet, like candy and ice cream and chocolate. Thus, the pre-Valentine's season is full of magazines advising girls from age 10 and up on how to make chocolates or cakes that will be lovely and pretty enough to convey their affection for the lucky lad, BUT ALSO not so cloyingly sweet that he will be unable to eat it.

- Oh yeah, and Japan has all these concepts of "obligation" that force girls to spend even MORE money and time on producing chocolates for classmates and co-workers and bosses that they don't *love*, but would not want to offend by not giving chocolate. Chocolate that they, as men, are not supposed to actually enjoy eating.

- And then the "obligation" thing forces those boys to buy candy for all the girls who got them stuff for Valentine's Day, for fear of being thought inconsiderate. (I think there may be further giri/honmei coding based on whether the boy gives the girl some candy or a marshmallow.) If the manga I've read is indicative of how Real Life works, it sounds like boys really don't enjoy White Day, and it's mostly their mothers that buy the candy for them and force them to distribute it at school.

I, on the other hand, am cunning, and celebrate North American Valentine's Day (GIVE ME CHOCOLATE)... but also allow my husband to shower me with sweets on White Day (coincidentally his birthday).

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

Just to completely geek you out here, in my former life, I used to do studies on taste preference in human beings. One consistent finding in the literature: there are gender differences in both liking for (as expressed in the laboratory, or on surveys) and consumption of (as seen in dietary questionaires, NHAINES, etc.) sweets. To wit: women likee sweets.

This is actually a worry for public health folks, as when women eat fatty foods, it tends to be *sweet* fatty foods, like cakes or...chocolate! Whereas men tend to consume fat as meat or cheese (ie, pizza with everything).

There are of course differences across cultures, but some of this appears to be biological, and hormone-moderated.

[twotone]

Oooh, now that *is* fascinating. especially the "as expressed in the laboratory" part. :D

So is the deal that women tend to overload on sweet fatty carbs, whereas men at least get their fat with a healthy dose of protein?

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

Well, kinda. First, there isn't any reputable scientific group that I know about that is worried about how many carbs you eat. (Unless you have diabetes, that is.) That's purely a goofy Atkins thing. The worry is dietary fat, whether it's in pizza or ice cream cake. There is a lot of epidemiological evidence that, in countries where people get a lot of fat in their diets, they tend to get more cancers. Specifically, women who live in countries where they eat a lot of fat tend to get more breast cancer.

And, yeah, I used to use questionnaires to see how much people liked the stuff they tasted. We'd also look at how much they ate, which often didn't match what they *said* they liked. Which I thought was kinda cool.

[twotone]

Oh, awesome! The Wikipedia entry for White Day (apparently only Japan, Korea, and Taiwan celebrate it) links to this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Day

The Koreans really are an awesome people.

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

Ha! Yes, Black Day is definitely a Most Excellent Holiday!!!

[twotone]

I appreciate that it's not just "rar Valentine's Day evil couples suxx". It's also a celebration of black bean noodles.

Oh man, what I wouldn't give for a good noodle house around here. :(

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

I think I am going to need to go get pho for lunch.

We saw a restaurant the other day called "What The Pho."

[keeper1st.livejournal.com]

Well, that's one way to teach people the correct pronunciation.

But the pun is as bad as a pseudo-Chinese place I saw called "Wok 'n' Roll"...

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

Hee. I worked with a Vietnamese woman, so I know even when I'm pronouncing pho "correctly," I'm still not doing the dramatic little sigh/tonal change you really need.

[avalonjones.livejournal.com]

I think the Stitch on the right kinda has a "A jug of wine, a loaf of bread, and THOU..." look on his face, so maybe that's the one you'd give someone you really like, as opposed to someone you're obligated to give a gift to.

Just a guess. :D A spastic one, to be sure!