Friday, September 23, 2011

Gosekku Festival Days

Gosekku Festival Days These are a group of five festivals from China that were originally observed on the lunar calendar, but in Japan, have been converted to the Gregorian calendar:


1. Seven Grasses Day, Nanakusa no sekku,; Held on the seventh day of the first month (January 7th). It's a day when people eat rice porridge made with seven traditional spring herbs to promote health. Also known as "Human Day" Jinjitsu.

2. Girls' Day, Hinamatsuri; The third day of the third month (March 3rd). It's a day when girls display beautiful traditional dolls in the hopes of good luck and good marriage.

3. Children's Day or Boys' Day, Kodomo no hi. The fifth day of the fifth month (May 5th) Also a national holiday. Boys hang up carp streamers and display miniature armor to be strong.

4. The Star Festival, Tanabata. The seventh day of the seventh month (July 7th). There is a folktale of two lovers on either side of the milky way who can only meet but once a year on this day. The main activity for children is writing wishes and hanging them on a small bamboo branch.

5. The Double Ninth or Chrysanthemum Festival, Choyo,The ninth day of the month (September 9th) Nine is a lucky number in China and this was also a day to observe chrysanthemums or other flowers. This festival is not much observed in Japan and is very minor compared to the others.



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