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Hi guys 
It’s Monday! You’re probably asking yourself why I’m so excited about that. But it’s not a regular Monday: To my joy (and hopefully also to yours) we are officially kicking off Love Week on the O2 Community today! 
And Love Week isn’t just about the upcoming (and sometimes heavily dreaded) Valentine’s Day - Instead we decided to do something special every day of this week, together with the help of some of our amazing members, in order to give you a week full of fun, excitement and - most importantly - LOVE!
Let it begin… with a little travel abroad. Saying little, but actually today I want to talk about how Valentine’s Day is in Japan. And even though we often think that celebratory days like these are universal, there are often a lot of different ways these are interpreted and celebrated.
In Japan for example, it’s customary for women to give a gift, often made of handmade chocolates, to all of the males they know as friends or colleagues as a sign of respect. This gift is called Giri-Choco (義理チョコ) which literally translates to “obligatory chocolate”. This tradition is however getting less and less popular, as it clearly doesn’t make much sense to be pressured into giving a gift in order not to offend someone. 
But what about couples? Still, chocolate (they sure know what they are doing)! But for your significant other it is Honmei-Choco (本命チョコ) which is basically the opposite of the above and means the real thing. These are usually made from more expensive ingredients and thus of much higher quality than Giri-Choco. Of course. Women don’t receive anything from their male counterparts on Valentine’s Day by the way, they instead have to wait until March the 14th, the so called “White Day”, on which men reciprocate the gesture with a gift to their partners.
Do you have similar traditions at home? Do you like to give little gifts to your friends or family to express your love? I really like the idea of giving chocolates on Valentine’s Day that I made myself, but I would rather do it all year round and get (hopefully more) back 
Tell me about your traditions at home and in your friendship circle that you enjoy as much as I enjoy my chocolate!
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@pgn wrote:
They're called Godiva Chocolates, because on the morning of 15-Feb, as you awake, the first thing you say, if the celebration went well:
- "God I've a headache, never again..."
A mystery card, a bunch of flowers, and a bottle of bubbly with the evening possibly Oriental, or Indian, meal 🍾.
Rootin', tootin', yeah...
That's another way to intepret it @pgn Since Valentine's is a Sunday I should probably hold myself back but I'm definitely going with a nice meal accompanied by a bottle of red (or two )
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@TallTrees wrote:
I will like them @TheresaV
Godiva Belgian chocolates with hazlenut praline filling..
Gorgeous 😍 I definitely deserve these😊
Oh wow I haven't tried those! You definitely have to tell me how you like them! I'm close to getting some myself And YES - Well deserved @TallTrees
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@TheresaV wrote:
@pgn wrote:They're called Godiva Chocolates, because on the morning of 15-Feb, as you awake, the first thing you say, if the celebration went well:
- "God I've a headache, never again..."
That's another way to intepret it @pgn
Well, one of the joys of lockdown is you can nurse the hangover gently this year @TheresaV 🤕😉
Every cloud and all that 😖😇
- 1930 Posts
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@pgn wrote:
@TheresaV wrote:
@pgn wrote:
They're called Godiva Chocolates, because on the morning of 15-Feb, as you awake, the first thing you say, if the celebration went well:
- "God I've a headache, never again..."
That's another way to intepret it @pgn
Well, one of the joys of lockdown is you can nurse the hangover gently this year @TheresaV 🤕😉
Every cloud and all that 😖😇
That's true. I will nurse it with even more wine on Monday afternoon
