The wife and I agreed not to celebrate V Day while we were still dating. Sort of rebellion against Hallmark (it was the 60's!). So now she gets surprised with chocolates on purely random occasions. Much better.
Now the real question - we see all the ads for guys to buy chocolates, jewlery, or flowers for the ladies in their life, but not much about the ladies buying for the gents? Is that reality?
In Japan it's the exact opposite. On Valentine's Day ONLY the ladies and girls are expected to buy chocolates for their lovers, boyfriends, daddies and bosses. The last one is called, in a rough translation "obligatory chocolate."
The problem is us American men who are married to or dating Japanese women. If we opt out and try to "go local" we are accused of being cheap (because they well know our culture), if we go all out we get that "you didn't have to, it's different in Japan."
Then there's Japan's White Day on March 14, which is not racist holiday but the day (created by chocolate makers) when men are supposed to reciprocate. Again, us Americans are lost. If we blow off White Day because we participated in V'Day....well, you know the rest.
1) I don't see anything wrong with a lady buying something for her man. I've never thought of getting something for Valentine's day myself. And The Wife is a cheap date--all she wants is a modest box of Russell Stover chocolates. I couldn't find them last year and got her snooty chocolate instead. She prefers the cheap crap.
The wife and I agreed not to celebrate V Day while we were still dating. Sort of rebellion against Hallmark (it was the 60's!). So now she gets surprised with chocolates on purely random occasions. Much better.
Now the real question - we see all the ads for guys to buy chocolates, jewlery, or flowers for the ladies in their life, but not much about the ladies buying for the gents? Is that reality?
In Japan it's the exact opposite. On Valentine's Day ONLY the ladies and girls are expected to buy chocolates for their lovers, boyfriends, daddies and bosses. The last one is called, in a rough translation "obligatory chocolate."
The problem is us American men who are married to or dating Japanese women. If we opt out and try to "go local" we are accused of being cheap (because they well know our culture), if we go all out we get that "you didn't have to, it's different in Japan."
Then there's Japan's White Day on March 14, which is not racist holiday but the day (created by chocolate makers) when men are supposed to reciprocate. Again, us Americans are lost. If we blow off White Day because we participated in V'Day....well, you know the rest.
2) Fascinating!
1) I don't see anything wrong with a lady buying something for her man. I've never thought of getting something for Valentine's day myself. And The Wife is a cheap date--all she wants is a modest box of Russell Stover chocolates. I couldn't find them last year and got her snooty chocolate instead. She prefers the cheap crap.