Valentine's Day

　　Who had introduced Valentine's Day (Feb.14) into Japan for the first time? It is said that the confectioner in Kobe had advertised the boxed chocolate as present for Valentine's Day in the English newspaper before World War II, early in the Showa period.
　　After the war, with the backdrop of growing feminism movement, the confectionaries began Valentine's Day sales campaign to sell the mass-produced chocolate to female shoppers by the slogan, " Ladies, confess love to your sweetheart by presenting chocolate to him."
　　Valentine's Day was originally the feast day of St. Valentine, one of Christian martyrs in the 3rd century. However this holiday traces its source to Lupercalia, the festival of fertility and fecundity, held on February 15th in ancient Rome.
　　This day began to be generally celebrated in Europe as lovers' holiday, when lovers and friends exchanged small tokens of affection on the very day. This custom crossed the Atlantic Ocean to the New World in the middle of the 19th century.
　　In the U.S. it is popular to exchange the greeting cards. The cards are often written with the phrase, "Be my valentine." Valentine stands for "sweetheart".
　　The cards are always sent along with flowers or candies, whose sales volume can be a big part of annual business in the U.S. as well as in Japan. National Confectionary Association (NCA) estimated almost $1.1 billion for Valentine's Day sales.
　　Besides chocolate and candy industry, other industries are looking for the same windfall to enter the Valentine's Day market. This year the American Dairy Association (ADA) started a new marketing challenge: "Cheese for a Valentine's Day treat".
　　ADA has the contest to find "America's Greatest Cheese Lover." Entrants must describe how cheese has brought romance into their lives, along with a copy of their heart-rending dairy recipe. The grand prizewinner will receive a three-day trip for two to Vermont's cheese country and a year's supply of cheese.
　　Many Americans love cheese and eat much more than the Japanese. That is a point. Certainly both cheese and chocolate are high caloric and nutritious, but cheese has a particular taste and fragrance to whet your sweetheart's passion. What is more, you can eat cheese with bread for breakfast, being free from anxiety about your teeth decayed. You remember the recent best-seller book, "Who moved my cheese?" If you propose cheese to your sweetheart, by saying, "I found it for you", he or she may show you a big smile.