Japanese Holidays and Celebrations

Japan is one of my favourite places to travel in the world and I have visited Tokyo, Osaka, Hokkaido and Kyoto. My last visit was in 2017 with my children and elder sister to Osaka and I can’t wait to go back again if I can. I love their foods, especially ramen and udon, their culture and traditions, J-pop music, manga, anime, horror movies and many more.

Did you know that Japan is made up of more than 6,000 islands stretching 3,000 kilometres from north to south? They consist of five major islands; Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, Okinawa, and Shikoku and approximately 260 islands are inhabited. 80% of the land is covered by mountains and Mount Fuji is their tallest mountain measuring 3,776 metres tall.

Every month, there is a holiday, festival or seasonal celebration in Japan. Let’s take a look!

• January – it’s their New Year called O-Shogatsu or Shogatsu. Everyone will send neng-jo (greeting cards) to family and friends, and clean their home before the big day! It is a belief based on purification and renewal. Businesses will close and celebrate for at least 3 days and some can celebrate up for a week! Around midnight, the bells from the Buddhist temple are struck 108 times to mark the transition from old to new. Many people will go to a Shinto shire to make New Year wishes. If you have watched Saiki K anime, you may recall seeing one of the episodes where they all visit the shire for blessing.

• February – celebrate the coming of the Spring Setsubun (Bean-Throwing Ceremony), where they cast the demons out and invite good fortune. It is like our Chinese New Year holiday, where we invite the lion dance troupe to our home to cast the bad spirits away and invite the wealthy god into our home for good fortune. Our Chinese New Year tends to fall between the end of January to February, depending on the Chinese calendar.

• March – Hinamatsuri (Doll Festival or Girls’ Day) is when families wish for their daughter’s health and happiness.

• April – Sakura Matsuri (Cherry Blossom Festival) is my favourite season of the year as it is not too cold nor too warm. It is t-shirt weather for me though others may still require jumpers/coats. People make visits to parks and other spots with cherry blossom trees to picnic. I still remember my first visit to Japan – many spots were taped off/reserved by large corporations for their staff. Also, April is my birthday month. I celebrated my 21^st and 22^nd birthday with my friends in Tokyo so I have many happy memories there.

• May – Kodomo-No-Hi (Children’s Day) has been celebrated on the 5^th day of the 5^th month since World War 2 and it is a day to respect children’s personalities and to celebrate their happiness. People tie carp streamers in front of the house, one for each child in the family. Sometimes, families include bigger carp streamers for the mother and father.

• June – Children make teru-teru bozu (shine shine monk) dolls to hang around the windows during the Tsuyu (rainy season) wishing for the sun to return.

• July – Tanabata is also known as Star Festival and celebrates the one day each year when the two star-crossed lovers Zhinü and Niulang can meet. It is derived from the Chinese celebration known as Qixi Festival.

• August – O-Bon is when they welcome back the spirits of their ancestors. It is quite similar to our Chinese Hungry Ghost festival, except we celebrate for the whole lunar calendar month which often happens between July to August on the Gregorian calendar.

• September – Undo-Kai is their sports day, where everyone participates in the competitions.

• October – O-Tsukimi is also known as moon-viewing, like a variant of the Mid-Autumn Festival to celebrate the harvest. The day can vary but is between September and October. Just like our Chinese Mid-Autumn festival where we admire the moon and eat mooncakes on the 15^th of the 8^th Lunar Month.

• November – Shichi-Go-San (7-5-3 Day) is a traditional Japanese rite of passage and festival day for three, five and seven-year-old children to celebrate the growth and well-being of young children.

• December – Omisoka is their New Year’s eve where they clean and decorate the house to get ready for the new year.

These are just a small list of holidays and celebrations in Japan. There are more local celebrations which are usually found in different parts of Japan!