March is called Yayoi in the lunar calendar. Yayoi is also read Iyayoi, the word of which means that plants further grow. Put simply, March is a month when plants thrive and grow luxuriantly. The word itself is said to be named as March literally without change, as a widely accepted opinion.

Among the popular events in March, comes in Hina Matsuri, or Doll Festival. This time, however, let us talk about White Day.

February 14 is Valentines Day when young girls present chocolates to boys while March 14 is a day when boys in turn give candies or marshmallows back to girls. Which is generally understood as White Day in Japan.

According to legend, in Rome in the third century AD, there was time when they prohibited marriage, not making families granted for the purpose of sending boys to the battle fields, letting them fight to the top of their bents, leaving no worries behind. It was Valentine who secretly supported marriage. Valentine wrote love letters to a girl, which is said to be the original beginning of cards sent from men to women, and the custom has stayed up to the present day. Other than Japan, it is exchanged between even families as well but not limited to chocolates while chocolates are presented from girls to boys, the custom of which seems to be exclusive for Japan. This Valentine Chocolate Campaign is said to have been established by chocolate manufacturers.

When it comes to White Day, there seems not to be any original clear-cut religious cause or history. It began with the purpose of establishing sales campaign as reciprocal custom of returning gifts from boys to girls in turn. A well-known organizations which declared to have initiated White Day is National Confectionery Industry Association for the sales of candies as well as a confectioner in Fukuoka Ishimura Manseido.

There seems to be customs in Korea and Taiwan similar to Japan, but not exactly the same. Festival events imported from abroad change in concert with cultures of each own country and eras as well. This is culture here to stay in that particular country, is not it?