The Holiday English Doesn’t Have

ホワイトデー (howaito dē) — White Day — falls on March 14, exactly one month after Valentine’s Day. It’s a day when men who received chocolate or gifts on Valentine’s Day give return gifts (お返し, okaeshi) to the women who gave them. This holiday has no equivalent in English-speaking countries because the concept itself is uniquely Japanese. In the West, Valentine’s Day is a mutual exchange — both partners give each other gifts on February 14. In Japan, Valentine’s Day is when women give chocolate to men, and White Day is when men return the favor.

You can’t really translate ホワイトデー into natural English beyond simply calling it “White Day.” It’s one of those cultural concepts that requires explanation rather than translation.

A Holiday Invented by the Candy Industry

White Day was born in the late 1970s when Japanese confectionery companies saw a business opportunity. Valentine’s Day had already been successfully established in Japan (largely through marketing by chocolate companies in the 1950s and 60s), but the gift-giving only went one direction. Around 1978, the National Confectionery Industry Association declared March 14 as “ホワイトデー,” encouraging men to buy marshmallows, white chocolate, and candy as return gifts. The “white” in the name reportedly comes from the white color of marshmallows and sugar.

The holiday took off rapidly. Today, White Day gifts have expanded far beyond sweets to include cookies, jewelry, handbags, flowers, and even experiences like dinner reservations.

The Rules: 義理 vs. 本命 and the Triple Return

White Day follows the same two-tier system as Valentine’s Day. Women give 義理チョコ (giri choko — obligation chocolate) to male coworkers, bosses, and acquaintances, and 本命チョコ (honmei choko — true-feeling chocolate) to romantic interests. On White Day, men are expected to return gifts accordingly — something modest for giri recipients, something meaningful for honmei.

There’s also the famous (if debated) “三倍返し” (sanbai gaeshi — triple return) rule, which says a man’s White Day gift should be worth roughly three times what he received. While not everyone follows this literally, it reflects the social pressure men feel to give impressive return gifts — making White Day potentially more expensive than Valentine’s Day for the gift-givers.

Fun Fact

White Day has spread beyond Japan to South Korea, Taiwan, China, and Vietnam, each adding local twists. In South Korea, there’s even a third installment: “ブラックデー” (Black Day) on April 14, when single people who received nothing on either Valentine’s Day or White Day gather to eat 짜장면 (jajangmyeon — black bean noodles) and commiserate. Black Day hasn’t really taken root in Japan, but the concept occasionally pops up in Japanese media as a humorous reference.