Not "that" kind of guy

My husband is not a fan of holidays that require gifts.  He wants to give things when the mood strikes and for random acts of kindness instead of because someone, somewhere decided that on such-and-such a day men give gifts to women.  But, sometimes, he surprises me.

In 1977, a marshmallow company in Japan was looking at ways to increase sales.  One of their executives was reading a women's magazine when he saw a letter to the editor asking why men didn't reciprocate valentine's day gifts.  In Japan, women do all the work on Valentine's Day - giving gifts and sometimes preparing special meals or setting up a date.  This woman asked the age old question - what about us?

After doing some marketing research, he decided to create "Marshmallow Day" on March 14 and got a department store to support the efforts.  He worked diligently and created a new confection to commemorate the day and they officially launched Marshmallow Day on March 14, 1978 with chocolate filled marshmallows.

The new holiday caught on quickly and by the mid 1980's men were buying up marshmallows and other white treats and gifts for women who had given them gifts on Valentine's Day in reciprocation.  Soon the name changed to White Day and has held its own as a made-up commercial holiday, created solely to sell confections.  Nowadays, men buy women chocolates, cakes, cookies, scarves, wallets, and other trinkets.  The holiday is now celebrated in other Asian countries like South Korea, Vietnam, and China (to name a few).

For the most part, I don't notice as much hype for White Day as there is for Valentine's Day.  I really think it is because White Day is considered a reciprocation holiday.  On February 15, Valentine's Day signs are taken down and White Day signs are put up in their place, but that is basically it.  I have not seen special White Day merchandise beyond the outside of chocolate boxes, but even those are few and far between.

In the 16 years I have been with my husband, both as a girlfriend and a wife, he has never given me a gift on White Day.  It just isn't his style and I know this.  But this year, I found a surprise waiting for me on the breakfast table.  A really sweet card and a canister of herbal tea was waiting for me.  I was taken aback by the gesture and really grateful for the tea. 

I had a lovely White Day.  I was even able to take a few minutes and sit with a cup of my new tea and relax while my son was at school.