Kodomo no Hi: Children’s Day in Japan

Children’s Day, which is called Kodomo no Hi (こどもの日) in Japanese, is a national holiday in Japan held every year on May 5th to celebrate happy and healthy children and to express gratitude to their mothers.

Children’s Day, which is called Kodomo no Hi (こどもの日) in Japanese, is a national holiday in Japan held every year on May 5th to celebrate happy and healthy children and to express gratitude to their mothers. One of four national holidays during Japan’s annual “Golden Week” in late April and early May, Children’s Day is especially colorful with flying carp streamers and samurai motifs. In this article we will introduce the history and essential facts of this holiday as well as looking at some typical activities and traditional foods.

Origins
Historically, the fifth day of the fifth month was called Tango no Sekku (端午の節句) and was a celebration for boys. The equivalent day for girls was Hina Matsuri which is still celebrated on the third day of the third month as the Doll Festival, but which is not a national holiday. In 1948 the Japanese government renamed the old Boy’s Day as Kodomo no Hi and officially made it a celebration for all children. However, many of the surviving traditions of the modern Children’s Day are symbolically related to the health and strength of boys.

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