第7回　The Season of Love

Hello! My name is Chase Sutherland. I’m from Michigan, USA and I was a high school ALT at Toryo Senior High School for four years. Now, I’m working at the English Education Promotion Office at Kencho. Sometimes I will upload articles about different cultures to our homepage. Let’s read the first one I wrote!
What does February mean to you? Well, for many people it means Valentine’s Day! Many countries across the world celebrate Valentine’s Day differently. Or, they don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day at all. Today, let’s look at how Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the United States.
    

Like in Japan, the United States celebrates Valentine’s Day on February 14th, and it isn’t a national holiday. This means that everyone has to go to work or school like usual. One big difference about Valentine’s Day in the United States is who gives the chocolate. In Japan, girls give boys chocolate on Valentine’s Day, right? Well, in the United States, it’s the opposite! Boys give girls chocolate, flowers, a card, or even a present. In particular, Americans like to give red roses. Also, couples like to go to a fancy restaurant and have a nice dinner. In the United States, Valentine’s Day is the most romantic day of the year.
    

There’s another big difference about Valentine’s Day in the United States. In Japan, there’s “White Day” on March 14th, exactly one month after Valentine’s Day. As you know, on White Day boys give cookies to girls. But, there’s no White Day in the United States! It is not celebrated in the United States, but White Day has spread from Japan to some other Asian countries such as China, Taiwan, and South Korea. Let’s enjoy some sweets this February and March!

Written by Chase Sutherland

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