Japan Concludes Golden Week by Celebrating Children’s Day

The Japanese string of national holidays known as Golden Week definitely goes out with a bang, saving one of the perhaps most exciting and most widely celebrated holidays of the week for last. 

Every year on May 5th, children across Japan are celebrated during the holiday, appropriately named, Children’s Day. Although it has only been dubbed a national public holiday by the Japanese government since 1948, the holiday has been deeply ingrained within Japanese culture dating back to the reign of Empress Suiko in 593 A.D. 

Originally, May 5th was named Tango no Sekku and designated for boys, while March 3rd was the holiday for girls. But it has since been changed so May 5th is a day for celebrating all children, both boys and girls. It is a day set aside to celebrate children’s happiness and pay respects to their wonderful little personalities. It is also a day to express gratitude to mothers across Japan who carried and gave birth to the children. For this reason, it is no longer referred to as Tango no Sekku but instead Kodomo no Hi. 

All across Japan, giant carp-shaped streamers can be seeing flying outside of houses to symbolize strength and success. Inside the home, families will display dolls of famous warriors and other beloved heroes. Children are encouraged to take baths sprinkled with iris leaves and roots to promote good head and ward off any evil. And as you may have guessed, the holiday comes with a traditional food as well. No Japanese holiday is complete without a traditional food or drink, and for this holiday that food is kashiwamochi. Kashiwamochi is a rice cake wrapped in oak leaves and filled with a delicious sweet bean paste. 

Countless events are held on Children’s Day to honor children, highlight their talents, promote good health, and of course- to have fun! One event included a performance of Kyogen at the Yokohama Noh Theater, featuring 18 actors between the ages of seven and thirteen. Eager parents, teachers, friends, and family members packed the theater to witness the display of impressive skills that the children had spent nearly a year preparing. 

Kyogen is a type of comic theater that has been around for 600 years and is very important within Japanese traditions and culture. It is performed wearing traditional costumes with very distinct styles of acting. It takes much time, practice, and skill to learn the unique comic expressions, movements and uses of a fan. 

Children’s Day is the perfect way to end Golden Week because it is filled with tons of fun traditions and celebrations that the whole family can love and enjoy. 

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How the Chinese are Celebrating the Chinese New Year (Part Two)

Today is February 19th which means that the long awaited day, Chinese New Year, has officially arrived! Due to the time difference, people in China have already been celebrating for almost a day- and some people kick started their celebrations this past weekend! After the New Years Eve Reunion dinner has concluded and the red envelops have been exchanged, families eagerly await the sound of the midnight bells that will let them know the New Year has arrived. If they somehow missed the bells though, no worries because they certainly wouldn’t of missed the crescendo of fireworks and firecrackers lighting up the night sky the moment the clock struck midnight.

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Fireworks and firecrackers are one of the oldest and most important customs of the New Year, but in recent years they have been banned from major cities due to the danger and noise disturbances they’ve caused. But this doesn’t stop people in smaller cities and rural areas from practicing the firecracker tradition. Most families spend the rest of their night enjoying the fireworks show and little children run in the street throwing their miniature firecrackers and quickly covering their ears. 

This day marks the beginning of the Year of the Sheep, a mild and gentle animal that lives peacefully in groups. Last week, Hong Kong leader CY Leung gave a holiday speech, urging people to “be like sheep” during their celebrations this year, in an effort to avoid some of the accidents that have occurred in the past from some hardcore celebrating.  

Chinese families also use this time to give thanks to their ancestors. Many people will burn paper money and sweep the graves of deceased family members as an offering to their ancestors. These customs are a way for families to show their deceased loved ones respect and that they are missing them on this special day. It is also to ask for good fortune and protection for their children during the upcoming year. These customs are performed over the course of the holiday, but they are the most important during the first few days.

Depending on where you live, you might also witness lion and dragon dances during various parades, especially in Hong Kong and Macau.  

One of the most widespread traditions for the first day of the new year is for everyone to wear a new outfit (new clothes for the new year), preferable red in color. Red is the color symbolizing good luck, so it is the most common color seen during this important time. To spread the New Years cheer, people will wish everyone they see, stranger or not, “Gongxi”, which literally means “respect joy”, which can mean greetings or congratulations. 

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How the Chinese Celebrate the Chinese New Year (Part One of Two)

With Chinese New Year just two days away, activities for preparation are over and people are getting ready for the celebrations to start. Some people have already begun their celebrations, attending various parades and festivals this past weekend. Families have spent the last few weeks preparing for a reason, the Chinese New Year is not just one day, but a whole 16 days worth of celebrating. Also referred to as the Spring Festival, this holiday is the most widely celebrated holiday in China, as well as one of the most important traditions in the Chinese culture. Preparing included activities such as cleaning, shopping, getting a haircut, and more- but all of those should be finished by now as the people get ready for the festival’s arrival.

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If anyone still has some sweeping left to do, they’d better get on it! An important Chinese New Year’s tradition is a type of cleaning Chinese people call “sweeping the dust”, which is a symbol of bidding the old year farewell and making room for the New Year to bring good luck into the home. However, sweeping or any sort of cleaning is strongly advised against during the first two days of the New Year because it is believed to sweep away the good luck that the New Year brings. 

Now that the house has been cleaned and all the necessary items have been bought, it is time to decorate the house. Putting up New Year decorations and preparing the house for the holiday is something most families typically do the night before the New Year. Houses are decorated with red lanterns, red couplets, New Year paintings, and images of goats or sheep since this 2015 is the Year of the Sheep. Another important custom typically done on New Year’s Eve is to paste a “door god” image on to the front door. Although the “door gods” were originally made of carved peach wood, nowadays most people just paste printed images. These images are a prayer for health, peace, and longevity. Two door gods are thought to ward off evil spirits and keep them from entering the home. The door gods are always scowling and holding weapons to intimidate evil spirits and display power. 

The New Year’s paintings serve a different purpose. The paintings are put up to create a joyful and prosperous environment in the home. The subjects of the paintings are typically positive, happy ones including birds, flowers, ripe fruit, legends, treasure and more. 

And now that the home has been decorated and all the necessary items to bring in good luck and fortune have been put up, it is time for the New Year’s Eve dinner. Having a big feast with the family is seen as a critical aspect of the New Year’s celebration and most people try their hardest to make sure they are present. The food served on this special night varies depending on which region of China you’re in. In northern China, the traditional food for New Years Eve is dumplings shaped like a half moon. In southern China, they consume niangao, a cake made of rice flour, as their traditional dish. 

Since the family is all together for this wonderful dinner, parents and grandparents use this time to give the red envelopes filled with lucky money to the children. The gift symbolizes the parents’ wish for their children to stay healthy and grow a lot during the upcoming year. 

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Much like New Year’s Eve in the United States, in China families stay up till at least midnight to witness the beginning of the New Year and hear the traditional midnight bells begin to ring. 

How Asian Countries Commemorate Valentine’s Day

Just as how many countries around the world celebrate love and romance on February 14th, several Asian countries have their own unique ways of acknowledging the special holiday. 

In America, when most people think of Valentine’s  Day, one of the first things that comes to mind is chocolate. Cause what would the romantic holiday be without some chocolate right? Well, many South Koreans would definitely agree with this notion. In South Korea it is traditional for chocolate to be given to loved ones on the 14th of February, however, unlike America where the men traditionally give the gifts (not always!), in South Korea it is the women who are responsible for wooing the men on this day. The men then return the favor a month later on a different holiday, known as White Day. When compared to other countries, such as Japan, it has been said that Korean women are known for the high amounts of chocolate they shower on the men in their life on Valentine’s Day.

The Japanese version of Valentine’s Day also centers around chocolate, (because what else matters, right?!). Another similarity to South Korea is that the women are also the typical gift givers on this day. Unlike the United States, gifts of flowers, cards, or dinner dates are not terribly common and almost all of the gift giving focuses on chocolate. Another difference from the United States is that the gifts are not just giving to one’s romantic interests, but friends, family, and even coworkers. The amount of chocolate given to the man signifies how much he means to the woman and how important he is to her. Many female friends will exchange chocolate between them, a candy called “tomo-choko”, tomo literally meaning friend. But don’t worry, women aren’t the only ones who do the gift giving for Valentine’s Day. Men are expected to return the favor to whomever gave them chocolates by giving them a gift that is twice the cost of the chocolates. So everyone gets to feel special for Valentine’s Day. The romantic date night that many Westerners associate the holiday with is actually celebrated by many Japanese couples on Christmas Eve, a long standing tradition. Valentine’s Day wasn’t introduced to the country till 1936, as an advertising ploy to foreigners, but since then the celebration has really caught on. 

Unlike the rest of the world, Chinese couples prefer to celebrate their version of Valentine’s Day on a day other than February 14th. Chinese Valentine’s Day, also known as Qi Qiao Jie, occurs on the seventh day of the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar. Chocolates, candies, cards, and flowers are not typically exchanged on this day, but there are still many other romantic customs and gestures associated with their most romantic holiday. 

In the past, colorful "shrines" made of paper, fresh fruit, and flowers are put up in as a tribute to the first two lovers of Qi Qiao Jie. There are two legends which surround the origins of the holiday, both involving the position of the stars on the seventh day of the seventh month in the Chinese lunar calendar. Like most of the Chinese holidays and festivals, there are many myths and legends, and a deep history behind this celebration of love. 

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How Countries in Asia Celebrate Halloween

Halloween is the most popular holiday in the United States, but did you know that other countries celebrate it too? Countries around the world have ways of honoring and remembering the dead during this time of year. Even different countries in Asia like to celebrate Halloween, but not in the traditional costumes-and-pumpkins way we might think. 

Each October 31st, people across China celebrate Halloween, or Teng Chieh, by offering food and water to the dead. They also light lanterns with the belief that they will help to guide deceased loved ones as they make their visit to the "land of the living" in Halloween night. 

The Japanese also utilize lanterns for their Halloween customs. The lanterns are traditionally colored red and are hung in every house. These red lanterns are also placed on boats and float through rivers to guide the spirits of the dead back to the homes of their families for the night. It is also traditional for Japanese families to clean the gravestones of their ancestors and prepare special dishes to honor and remember them. These customs and traditions are all referred to in Japan as the Obon Festival. 

Halloween is not big in Korea, but offerings of food and flowers are still made to their ancestors to show respect. 

Hong Kong remembers their lost loved ones through a traditional festival known as the Festival of the Hungry Ghosts. During this time, pictures of fruits or money are burned with the belief that these images will reach the spirits of the dead and provide comfort. 

Although many of the Halloween traditions in Asia are different from those in the United States, certain countries are beginning to pick up many Western Halloween traditions. For example, Halloween recently arrived in Japan. Now around this time of year, decorations such as jack-o'-lanterns can be seen around town of in shop windows and every year Tokyo Disneyland and Universal Studios Japan puts on extravagant Halloween shows and events. Trick-or-Treating is still not a common practice in Japan, but costume house parties aren't that uncommon. 

Besides the traditional and culture-rich Festival of the Hungry Ghosts, Hong Kong also likes to celebrate the more commercialized side of Halloween. Each year bars all across Hong Kong are decked out in Halloween decorations in an attempt to increase local interest in the holiday. Hong Kong Disneyland and Ocean Park also host a Halloween Bash each year to promote and celebrate the holiday. 

How Fireworks Came to be Part of Our Fourth of July Celebrations

One of the most memorable parts of summer is only days away. Since I live in a beach town, I’m mentally bracing myself for the influx of tourists, vacationers, and partiers that is sure to happen tomorrow. On Friday thousands of people across the country are going to be hitting the beach, barbecuing, attending carnivals, getting well acquainted with beer, and celebrating all that is America. Aside from hot dogs, hamburgers, and beer one of the most common (and most looked forward to) aspects of the Independence Day holiday are fireworks. Without fireworks the Fourth just wouldn’t feel complete. But where did our explosive entertainment come from?

While some argue their roots can be traced back to India or the Middle East, most historians believe fireworks originated in China. As early as 200 B.C. Chinese villagers stumbled upon naturally occurring firecrackers and began using them during rituals and cultural ceremonies. To make the delightful noise that everyone seems to love, they would roast bamboo, which explodes and creates a loud bang when it is heated due to its hollow air pockets. The people believed that these loud explosions would scare and ward off any evil spirits lurking nearby. 

As with many people throughout history, eventually curiosity and science came into play and Chinese chemists mixed together saltpeter, charcoal, sulfur, and other things to create an early form of gunpowder. They then stuffed the new substance into their bamboo sticks before throwing them into a fire. Thus, the first fireworks were born. 

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From that moment on, fireworks became a huge part of celebrating events, particularly military victories and religious ceremonies. So how did they make their way overseas and become part of our Independence Day celebration?

Fireworks have been a part of our Fourth of July since the very first one. It was John Adams who was the first to propose having fireworks become part of the celebrations. In a letter to his wife he wrote, “The day will be most memorable in the history of America. I am apt to believe it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade…bonfires and illuminations (a term for fireworks)…from one end of the continent to the other, from this time foreword forevermore.” 

And it looks like John Adams was right because on each anniversary of the 4th to this day fireworks have lit up our sky in celebration of our independence as a nation.  

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Countries in Asia Know How to Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day Too

It might not be the first places you think of- but countries in Asia have some pretty incredible St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. Although, there is not a high Irish population throughout Asia, on St. Patrick’s Day everyone is Irish right? The holiday isn’t big everywhere in Asia but there are a few places that really get into the spirit of things and would be a great place to spend the holiday if you’re ever around the area in March!

Seoul, South Korea

It is a fairly recent addition to the list of Korean festivals, but since 2001 the Irish Association of Korea has been celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with an annual parade that hosts up to 15,000 attendees. It is complete with everything you would expect for a St. Patty’s Day bagpipes, Irish dancing, Celtic music, lots of green, and of course lots of beer! The Koreans love any excuse for a good party!

Tokyo, Japan

This may come as a surprise to you, but the Japanese have celebrated and embraced Irish culture for quite some time, and this includes- of course- St. Patrick’s Day. Each year, Tokyo hosts an amazing parade bringing 30,000 people to the streets to celebrate and several thousand parade participants. And like in Seoul, lots of green, music, food, and alcohol can be expected!

Singapore

Due to it’s strong associations with the British Isles, Singapore also has a connection to Irish heritage and with it, St. Patrick’s Day. In addition to a spectacular parade, Singapore also hosts an annual St. Patrick’s Day Ball. The celebrations stretch over a three day period. First begins the ball on the eve before the big day. Then on the 17th, the streets fill with

green for the parade. And the fun continues on the 18th with street parties outside of local Irish pubs and Irish Festivals.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

In previous years, Kuala Lumpur has had parties and festivals that have reached over 8,000 attendees. But Malaysia is making our list because of their public determination to host Asia’s largest St. Patrick’s Day Parade, even making an online pledge to make it into the Guinness Book of World Records. And they take it one step further, wanting to make not just the 17th the day of celebrations- but all of March!