08: Children's Day ( May 5th )
May 5th is Children’s Day (こどもの日 Kodomo no Hi), it is a day to respect children's personalities and to celebrate the healthy growth and happiness of children. It became an official national holiday in 1948, but it has been a day of celebration in Japan since ancient times.
The fifth day of the fifth month was traditionally called Tango no Sekku (端午の節句) and was a festival for boys (Boys’ Day). Girls have their own festival, which is called Doll Festival (ひな祭り Hina Matsuri) and is held on the third day of the third month. In 1948, the government decided that May 5th should be a national holiday to celebrate the happiness of all children and to express gratitude towards their mothers. It was renamed Kodomo no Hi, Children’s Day. However, despite its renaming, it is still considered as Boys’ Day and many finds that it is inappropriate that Boys’ Day is a national holiday, while Girls’ Day on March 3rd is not a national holiday.
On Children's Day, families with boys raise huge carp-shaped flags (鯉のぼり, Koinobori) outside the house, one for each boy (or child), and display dolls of famous warriors and other heroes inside. The carp was chosen because it symbolizes strength and success. Rice cakes wrapped in oak leaves and filled with sweet bean paste, called kashiwamochi, are traditional sweets eaten on this day.
Children’s Day is also the last day of “Golden Week,” a week when many Japanese households go on holiday.
