We may have Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, in the states as well as in Japan, but the Japanese also celebrate “Children’s Day”. (I know, we say that it’s always children’s day but….) It’s a day to “respect the character of children” as well as to promote both their health and happiness. It’s also a very Japanese day for it is the day that children express their gratitude for the “tender love and care” from their parents.
May 5th is also the day for “Boys’ Festival” - celebrating, of course, the growth and development of the young boys. The coolest thing about this festival is the beautiful “Koi-Nobori” (carp) streamers that are made from paper or cloth (often nylon type stuff now). These things are hung on TALL poles (complete with wind (usually golden) pinwheels on the top). Now, at one time, traditional ones were bamboo poles, mounted on the house. Now they’re in the yards, on sides of apartments, ropes like clotheslines and more likely to be on a metal pole than bamboo. They always have one carp for each son…with the largest one for the eldest (sorry, if you’re the youngest, you get the small one). It’s always a carp because it symbolized strength and determination to overcome all obstacles.
There seems to be some disagreement as to where this holiday came from so they don’t settle on just the carp for strength. They also display warrior decorations, miniature helmets, suits of armor (Japanese, of course), a sword, silk banners with the family crest, and warrior dolls representing Momotaro (the Japanese “David”) or other important warriors from old Japan.
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