Japanese people work very hard. Long hours are the norm. At the same time, they are not averse to taking some time off to spend with family and friends. There are two extended holiday breaks, one in spring called Golden Week [ゴールデンウィーク] another at the end of summer called Obon [お盆].
Then there are the single-day holidays, fifteen in all.
I’ve written about these official holidays here in Japan before. Nothing military EVER! They celebrate everything from old people to mountains to nature to culture to the sun and ocean and the equinoxes.
The official holiday in May coincides with Golden Week. I’m referring to Children’s Day.
A holiday to celebrate children? Well . . . kids are the future. And they’re so darn cute!
I won’t attempt to offer a rationale for Children’s Day. It’s cultural thing, one that wouldn’t hurt the West to emulate. Of course, Anglo-Euro-America conjoined with the Land Down Under and that other place where they filmed Lord of the Rings, has Christmas, an orgy of excessive spending and myths about a virgin birth, a fat old man on a reindeer-powered UFO, and the health benefits of chemical and antibiotic-laced turkey or ham.
Trust me. There is no equivalency.
Just watch the below video and enjoy!
