Japanese
Holidays

Japanese Holidays

Click on the holidays to see the description. The red dates are national holidays, and the days in orange are not national holidays.

January "Ichi-gatsu"

1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30	31

Febuary "Ni-gatsu"

1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30	31

March "San-gatsu"

1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30	31

April "Shi-gatsu"

1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30	31

May "Go-gatsu"

1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30	31

June "Roku-gatsu"

1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30	31

July "Shichi-gatsu"

1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30	31

August "Hachi-gatsu"

1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30	31

September "Ku-gatsu"

1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30	31

October "Ju-gatsu"

1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30	31

Novermber "Ju-ichi-gatsu"

1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30	31

December "Ju-ni-gatsu"

1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30	31

Descriptions

January 1 (New Year's Day, "Gantan/Ganjitsu")
2nd Monday of January (Coming of Age Day, "Seijin no hi")
Febuary 3 ("Setsu bun")
Febuary 11 (National Foundation Day, "Kenkoku kinen bi")

According to one source, on this day in 660 BC, the first Japanese emperor was crowned.

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March 3 (Girls' Day, "Hina matsuri")

We celebrate this day by setting up a set of dolls called "Hina ningyo" and eat a special food, including "hina arare," which is colored sweet rice puff. It is not a national holiday.
March 14 ("White Day")

In Japan, on 2/14 (Valentine's day), girls give chocolates to the boy they like. On 3/14, "White Day," The boys who got chocolate on 2/14, must return some candy (usually not chocolate) to girls.
March 21 (Vernal Equinox, "Shunbun no hi")
April 29 (Green Day, "Midori no hi")

This was originally Emperor Showa's birthday. The name changed to "Midori no hi" (Green Day) and remained a national holiday even after the emperor changed.
May 3 (Constitution Day, "Kenpou kinen bi")
May 4 ("Kokumin no kyujitsu")
May 5 (Boys' Day/Children's Day, "Kodomo no hi")
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July 7 ("Tanabata")

According to a folk story, this day is the only day of the year when a boy (Hokoboshi) and a girl (Orihime) can meet, who are normally separated by Milky Way. People prepare a bamboo tree and put pieces of paper with their wishes written.
July 20 (Ocean Day, "Umi no hi")

A newly established Japanese national holiday.
September 15 (Respect the Elderly Day, "Keirou no hi")

This day is to remember to respect and appreciate the elder people.
September 23 (The Autumnal Equinox, "Shubun no hi")
2nd Monday of October (Sports Day, "Taiiku no hi")

In schools, they hold a school wide athletic event "undou kai," or "sports festival." On this event, students compete with each other in several groups for highest scores. They practice the featured sports for a couple of month or more for this event.
November 3 (Culture Day, "Bunka no hi")

Schools hold a culture festival on this day. There will be exhibitions of students' art work, food and other crafts are sold for cheap prices, and some classrooms hold a game room. Some groups of students may perform plays, and musical shows.
November 15 ("Shichi go san")

On this day girls at age 3 and 7 and boys at age 5 will wish for a good future. They wear traditional clothes (kimono for girls or hakama for boys) and visit shrines and relatives.
November 23 (Labor Day, "Kinrou kansha no hi")

This is a day to appreciate labor. There is no special traditional family event for this holiday.
December 23 (Emperor's Birthday, "Tenno tanjobi")

The current emperor's birthday.

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This page is created by Yukiko.