Kodomo-no-hi

One of the most popular holidays in Japan, Kodomo-no-hi or Children’s Day is celebrate on May 5th. Though it is called Children’s Day today, this holiday is celebrated as “Boy’s Day”. The fifth day of the fifth month is traditionally called Tango no Sekku. Girls have their own festival, called Hina Matsuri (Doll Festival), held on the third day of the third month.

On Kodomo-no-hi families drive bad spirits away and celebrate the prospects of their son’s future. Warrior samurai dolls are put on display in the home.

Koinobori, carp streamers, are flown on flagpoles and from balconies. The carp was chosen because it symbolizes strength and success; according to a Chinese legend, a carp swam upstream to become a dragon. In recent years, as more people have moved into apartments and smaller houses, the carp streamers have also gotten smaller, and there are now miniature versions that are decorated indoors.

Children participate in syobuyu, an ancient ritual, by taking a baths in which the water is sprinkled with iris leaves and roots. This is because the iris is thought to promote good health and ward off evil. Also on this day, families often take Rice cakes wrapped in oak leaves and filled with sweet bean paste, called kashiwamochi, are also eaten.

All these figures: the carp, the samurai, irises, oak trees, and bamboos symbolize strength and courage.

Sources:

• Web Holidays
• Web-Japan