Japan annual event
Japan annual event
The full list of national holidays is as follows:

January 1 (national holiday)
New Year (shogatsu)

The second Monday in January
Coming 0f Age day or Adult’s Day (Seijin-no hi)

February 3
Beginning of spring (setsubun)
February 11 (national holiday)
National Foundation Day (kenkoku kinenbi)
February 14
Valentine’s Day

March 3
Doll’s Festival (hina matsuri)

March 14
White Day
March 20 or 21
Vernal Equinox (Shunbun-no hi)
April 29 (national holiday)
Showa Day (Showa no hi)
May 3 (national holiday)
Constitution Day (kenpo kinenbi)
May 4 (national holiday)
Greenery Day (midori no hi)

May 5 (national holiday)
Children’s Day (kodomo no hi)

July/August 7
Star Festival (tanabata)
The third Monday in July
Marine Day (Umi-no hi)
![]()
July/August 13-15
Obon
Third Monday of September (national holiday)
Respect for the Aged Day (keiro no hi)

Around September 23 (national holiday)
Autum Equinox Day (shubun no hi)

Second Monday of October (national holiday)
Health and Sports Day (taiiku no hi)
November 3 (national holiday)
Culture Day (bunka no hi)

November 15
Seven-Five-Three (shichigosan no hi)
November 23 (national holiday)
Labour Thanksgiving Day (kinro kansha no hi)
December 23 (national holiday)
Emperor’s Birthday (tenno no tanjobi)
December 24-25
Christmas
![]()
December 31
New Year’s Eve (omisoka)
If a national holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday will also be a holiday. If a day lies between two national holidays, the day will also be turned into a holiday.
admin on November 16th, 2008 | File Under Culture, Festival | No Comments -
Otoshidama is the lucky preserve of Japanese children. On January 1st, Japanese people have a custom of giving pocket money to children. The money comes from parents, grandparents and relatives this is known as Otoshidama, small gifts with money, colourful envelopes and a typical gift for a junior or senior high school student would be 5000 to 10000 yen ($50 - $100) per relative. That means that the money can add up pretty fast.
The Japanese Coming of Age Ceremony (Seijin shiki or Seijin no hi) is a Japanese annual event, which takes place on the second Monday of January (it used to be celebrated always on January 15 until the year 1999), on January 15 th is a national holiday. On this day, men and women who have had their twentieth birthdays during the year are proclaimed to become adults and they are eligible to vote, to smoke and drink, if they wish. Along with the bestowal of many new rights, they also must bear the responsibilities of adults.
Local governments usually have a ceremony known as a seijin shiki (adult ceremony) to honor the “new adults”. The ceremony is generally held in the morning and all of the young adults maintaining residency in the area are invited to attend. Government officials give speeches, and small presents are handed out to the new adults. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the government gives the new adults a money gift.


The Tachibina is an older form of Japanese Hina dolls from the early Edo period (1603-1827). The earlier Tachi bina dolls were not made to stand up, instead they were made to lay down or lean on the display. The faces of this set appear to be old with a beautiful sparkle on Gofun, probably from the late Edo to early Meji period.
They are related to very ancient protective figures (the amagatsu, a cross of bamboo with a head, and the hoko, an almost armless stuffed doll). They also evoke and sometimes replace the elaborate emperor and empress hina-ningyo which girls display at Hina Matsuri. When made of paper or inexpensive materials, they are appropriate for the nagashibina ceremony, the ancestor of Hina Matsuri, in which dolls are touched or rubbed to absorb one’s sins, and then thrown into a river.
Kagami mochi (a rice cake decoration for Japanese New Year’s), literally “Kagami” means a mirror and Mochi means a rice cake, which is offered to Buddha and other deities at the New Year. And the kagami mochi is decorated with objects often chosen for the lucky ideas suggested by puns on their names.
The ornamental mochi is removed on January 11 and broken into smaller pieces before being eaten. By this time, the kagami mochi is usually quite brittle, and cracks appear on the surface. The mochi is not cut with a knife, since cutting has negative connotations (like “cutting off ties”). It’s broken with one’s hands or a hammer, and thus the ritual is called kagami biraki鏡開き(”Mirror Opening”also known as the “Rice Cutting Ceremony”). The smaller pieces are roasted and put in zenzai or shiruko (sweet soup of boiled beans) or zoni (vegetable and meat soup). By partaking of this offering to the gods, ancient people believed that they were inviting divine blessings.


Fukuwarai is a Japanese traditional game which is usually played during New Year holiday in Japan. The game can help you to learn directions and parts of the face.
Recent Comments