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Holidays and Observances - What Is Children's Day?

What is Children's Day?

In Japan, May 5 is Children's Day, a day to celebrate children. This day combines what used to be celebrated as the Dolls' Festival on March 3 and the Boys' Festival on May 5. At the Boys' Festival, boys flew kites on a tall bamboo pole. Each boy in the family flew his own kite shaped like a carp (a fish that in Japan symbolizes strength, courage, and determination by the way it leaps upstream). At the Dolls' Festival, girls brought out their Hinamatsuridolls (special dolls representing the emperor and empress of Japan and other members of the court, all dressed in ancient costumes). They had a party and pretended to feed the dolls special treats such as o-sekihan(red bean rice), shirozake(sticky rice wine), and kashiwa-mochi(rice cake filled with sweet bean paste and wrapped in a leaf). Today Children's Day is more often celebrated in rural areas of Japan than in cities.

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