Ever wonder if Hallmark invented Valentine's Day or any of the other nameless holidays you are supposed to buy cards for? Well, questions of Hallmark's lobby power in the holiday creation industry are dwarfed when compared to Korea.
The Lotte company actually did just that. They created a national holiday for their product...Pepero. These biscuit like sticks are dipped in a milk chocolate coating. I don't particularly like them but they are quite popular.
The sticks look like the number 1, sort of. Or the letter I or a lower case l or just a stick. What do you get on Novemer 11th? Answer..... 11-11, Pepero sticks. It is a bit of a stretch for me but it is big here.Every business sets up a special Pepero stand. Students give them as presents to teachers and they get gifted and re-gifted a multitude of times throughout the day. Of course this year the 11th was on a Sunday so the gifting and re-gifting started on Friday. It is kinda like that mythical fruitcake that gets passed around the office. (Not Mom's fruitcake. Hers are delicious.)
What holiday will be invented next?
2 comments:
Wow! Thanks for the reminder. I just turned to Stephanie and said "it's Pepero Day!!" and she said "oh, it is!" We found Portland Korean grocery store, and so I think I will go home and eat the Peperos I have in my cupboard.
The 3 Rovig brothers all got their fruit cake already this year. Luckily, I didn't get one.
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