Japan: courtesy chocolate or destiny?
In Japan, women lead the way.
Two chocolatiers, Morozoff and Morinaga, dispute the authorship of Valentine's Day.
The first would have launched it in 1936. The second would have institutionalized it during a vast communication campaign suggesting that women should show their loved ones friendship and affection with sweet treats.
A heart-shaped box filled with homemade chocolates?
The gift is reserved for the loved one and is called
honmei-choco,
which can be translated as “chocolate of destiny”.
Under the guise of honorability, women must also give it to their bosses and colleagues;
these are then
giri-choco
, literally “courtesy chocolate”, which is nothing more than a real obligation.
The tradition, which was a major burden on the budget, then ran out of steam.
But manufacturers have more than one marketing trick in their mold: in 1978, the national association of confectionery manufacturers imagined a new stratagem to boost their sales.
One month to the day after Valentine's Day, it's men's turn to give chocolates to the one they love.
First called Poppy Day, then Day of Flowers, Biscuits and even… Marshmallows, two years later it took the name White Day.
Knowing that the value of the gift must be double or triple that received!
Ironically, women themselves have established another fashion,
tomo-choco
(friendship chocolate), a treat offered to their best friends, thumbing their nose at the obligation.
Finally, jibun-choco
, or “chocolates for oneself”, recently appeared
to console singles.
A survey carried out last year showed that these represented four times the expenditure on courtesy chocolates...
Getting there:
direct flights Paris – Tokyo in 12 hours with Air France, ANA or JAL.
Catalonia: a book for a rose
On April 23, in Barcelona, the Ramblas bring together literary stands and rose sellers.
JOSEP LAGO / AFP
For those absent-minded who miss February 14, Catalonia has planned a catch-up session.
The Spanish region has as its patron Saint George (Sant Jordi), whom it celebrates on April 23.
Georges, the same one who, to save his beloved, cut off the dragon's head.
Legend has it that the monster's blood turned into roses.
Since the 15th century, to commemorate Saint George's act of bravery, men have offered a rose to their sweetheart.
It is also reported that, according to medieval tradition, a rose fair took place in the Chapel of Saint George of the Palace of the Generalitat.
But it is only since 1995, when UNESCO established April 23 as World Book Day, that women have given a book in return to their loved one.
Barcelona then covers its Ramblas with literary stands and rose sellers.
Furthermore, on this day, all public monuments are accessible free of charge: the opportunity to visit
Casa Batlló
, one of Gaudí's most emblematic creations which highlights the legend of Saint George from the roof to the vestibule and up to the attic.
Getting there:
direct flights Paris – Barcelona in 1h40 0 with Transavia.
Denmark: a stranger writes to you
A stroll in Tivoli Park in Copenhagen is the ideal way to end Valentine's Day.
Alexandre Fagundes/Wirestock Creators - stock.adobe.com
The country of Andersen has long shunned Valentine's Day.
In 1950, florists tried to introduce it by organizing a procession in Copenhagen, but their hearts were not in it.
It was only forty years later that the tradition was quietly established, under the sweet name of
gaekkebrev
.
Untranslatable into French, the term refers to the white flower slipped into a letter announcing spring.
Although the custom is originally mainly linked to Easter, it is also used for Valentine's Day.
In fact, the lover writes a tender or playful poem on an artistically cut out sheet and sends it to his sweetheart.
But the missive must be anonymous.
The only clue: he signs with as many points as his own first name.
Is the author of the letter unmasked?
The lucky one will receive an Easter egg in return.
She gets lost: it's up to her to buy one.
The most forgetful make amends by offering a bouquet of snowdrops, synonymous with affection for their loved one.
And, to conclude in Danish style, we will end with a romantic stroll in Tivoli, one of the oldest amusement parks in the world, to kiss on the kissing bench!
Getting there:
Direct flights Paris-Copenhagen in 2 hours with Air France.
Provincial flights with Easyjet and SAS.
United Kingdom: does chance do things well?
The Wellington Arch, southeast of Hyde Park in London, dressed up for Valentine's Day in 2022. Tolga Akmen / AFP
In England, the custom is attested very anciently.
In his work
Present State of England under King William III,
a certain Doctor Chamberlagne relates that, at the period when animals and birds began to mate again, young girls and young boys each wrote their names on a piece of paper, rolled it up before putting it in a hat.
Everyone drew a piece of paper and chance designated their Valentine each Valentine.
The boy had to attach this paper to his own hat for a while, while the young lady kept it in her bosom.
The book still dates from… 1698!
More recently, Walter Scott echoed a more or less similar tradition which still sometimes persists in Scotland: the first man a young girl meets on February 14 must remain her friend for at least twelve months!
Over the years, tradition reduces the belief to a single day.
Of course, nothing is obligatory but if both like each other, a dinner or a small gift will end the day.
A sort of
speed dating
before its time?
Getting there:
we reach London by Eurostar in 2 hours 15 minutes from Paris and Edinburgh in 1 hour 50 minutes by plane with Air France.
Taiwan: it’s better to know how to count
A loving couple in Beijing, during the Qixi festival (2021).
JADE GAO / AFP
Taiwan loves lovers!
Not one but two days are dedicated to them.
That of February 14 is reinterpreted: the man must offer a single red rose to his true love, 11 to his girlfriend, 99 to signify eternal love and 108 – not one more – to ask for the hand of the chosen one of his heart !
The other celebration is held on the 7th night of the 7th month throughout China during the Qixi festival.
More poetic, it refers to a tale, equivalent to our immortal
Romeo and Juliet
.
A long time ago, a young cowherd named Niúláng fell in love with a weaver fairy, Zhīnǚ.
When the goddess of the skies learned that a mere mortal had married one of her protégés, in rage, she tore the sky in two, thus creating the Milky Way but separating for eternity the lovebirds transformed into stars.
They can only see each other one night a year, which falls, in 2024, on August 10.
On this occasion, newly married or single women make offerings in honor of Niúláng.
Getting there:
direct flights from Paris to Taipei in 12 hours 40 minutes with EVA Air.
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