Pepero Day

There are many holiday seasons that we as humans love to partake in to uphold tradition, show love and gratitude towards others, give thanks and so forth.  Some of these holidays are cleverly spread throughout the year to make life more interesting and enjoyable.  There are some holidays that seem routine and pointless while others just seem so right.  I have found one of those holidays that just. seems. right.

Behold Pepero Day.  A holiday that exists only because of it's numeric intrigue.  November 11th (11/11).  Now, a casual outsider may challenge the notion that every month would possess the capabilities of offering entertainment with double numbered dates (9/9, 10/10, 12/12 are just a few of the 12 possibilities).  This is where said outsider would fall into the ranks of ignorance.  What makes 11/11 so fascinatingly unique is that there are chocolate covered sticks, that when put in groups of 4, resemble the magical calendar date of 11/11.

but what exactly is Pepero?

A box of Pepero from a student (not wife).

Pepero, as I've stated before in my complex description, are cracker-esque sticks covered in chocolate.  They come in many sizes and other variations.  The one thing remains constant, however, is that it is always shaped like a stick.

Now, I've had to dive deep into research to know more about Pepero Day.  My research went as deep as Wikipedi, where I learned that Pepero is a product of Lotte Confectionary, a large company based in Korea (also the 3rd largest chewing gum manufacturer in the world).  Lotte was inspired by Pepero by a like Japanese product "Pocky" back in '83, and had the genius notion to start a holiday based off one of their products (despite their claim they did not).  In fact, so genious, that %55 of Lotte's Pepero sales occur on or around Pepero Day (for those who forgot 11/11).

Now, this Pepero Day isn't obviously only about chocolate sticks.  It's a romantic holiday as well.  Similar to Valentines Day, youngsters observe this day to give their loved ones chocolate sticks, kisses and more chocolate sticks.  Yesterday most of our students brought enough Pepero  to school to build a small cabin down south.  The day went from pleasant treats to gluttonous binges on Pepero.  At one point I would charge my students one pepero stick in exchange for help on their science experiments.  I've had my fill of pepero sticks....as I finish my last one at the end of this sentence.

I'm not going to spend any more time on Pepero Day, but before I go, please click this link to get a better understanding.

One of my biggest regrets so far in Korea is that I did not know about Pepero Day prior to Halloween.  I would have killed to make a costume similar to the ones in the flash site above.  Maybe next year, but people would be more offended than entertained of the costume.