Quinni in Japan: Pocky Day in Japan

Today at lunch break I studied at a cafeteria table with some friends, having some free cafeteria green tea. After some time I started to notice some giggling and excited high pitched voices at the table next to us. Eight girls were having a chocolate party or something. The whole table was covered with chocolate candy and they were exchanging their candy, having fun, laughing. It was like watching a high school pyjama party, only that it was 2 p.m. and they were not wearing pyjamas. Watching Japanese girls - even at university age - having fun often is like watching children play. They always laugh so freely, enjoying themselves like children, having fun childishly as if they did not have a care in the world.

What are they doing?

What were the girls doing? At the Paderborn University you would never see female students occupying a whole table in the cafeteria, covering it with chocolate, exchanging them, and giggling.
I suddenly noticed that all their candy had the form of chopsticks. They all had different kinds of chocolate sticks (similar to German "Mikado"). And then I remebered an email from a German friend that I had read this morning. He had said that the 11th of November is 11.11, which looks like sticks. On this day, people give "Pocky" chocolate sticks to their loved ones. My Japanese tutor said that this day has been invented by the company, which sells Pocky. So the girls were having a Pocky Party to celebrate the 11.11! Japanese culture seems to be evolving even nowadays... ^_^