| Date 2008 |
Occasion |
| |
|
| January 1-3 |
New Year (shogatsu):
This is the most important national holiday in Japan. |
| Second monday of January |
Coming of Age (seijin no hi):
The coming of age of 20 year old men and women is celebrated. |
| February 3 |
Beginning of spring (setsubun):
Setsubun is not a national holiday. |
| February 11 |
National Foundation Day (kenkoku kinenbi):
According to the earliest Japanese history books, on this day in the year 660 BC the first Japanese emperor was crowned. |
| February 14 |
Valentine's Day:
In Japan, women give chocolates to men on Valentine's Day. It is not a national holiday. |
| March 3 |
Doll's Festival (hina matsuri):
The Hina Matsuri or Doll Festival or Girl's Festival is celebrated on March 3. On this day, families with girls wish their daughters a successful and happy life. Dolls are displayed in the house together with peach blossoms. The doll festival has its origin in a Chinese custom in which bad fortune is transferred to dolls and then removed by abandoning the doll on a river. On Hina Matsuri, sweet sake is drunken and chirashi sushi is eaten.
|
| March 14 |
White Day:
The opposite of Valentine's Day: Men give cakes or chocolates to women. It is not a national holiday. |
| March 21 |
Spring Eqinox Day (shunbun no hi):
Graves are visited during the week (ohigan) of the Equinox Day. The day itself is a national holiday. |
| April 29 |
Greenery Day (midori no hi):
The birthday of former Emperor Showa, who loved plants and nature. From 2007, this national holiday will be renamed Showa Day, while Greenery Day will be moved to May 4. Part of the Golden Week. |
| May 3 |
Constitution Day (kenpo kinenbi):
National holiday remembering the new constitution that was put into effect after the war. |
| May 4 |
"Between Day" (kokumin no kyujitsu):
According to Japanese law, a day which falls between two national holidays is also declared a national holiday. From 2007, Greenery Day, currently celebrated on April 29, will be moved to May 4.
|
| May 5 |
Children's Day (kodomo no hi):
Also called boy's festival. |
| July/August 7 |
Star Festival (tanabata):
Tanabata, also known as the "star festival", takes place on the 7th day of the 7th month of the year, when, according to a Chinese legend, the two stars Altair and Vega, which are usually separated from each other by the milky way, are able to meet.
Because the 7th month of the year roughly coincides with August rather than July according to the formerly used lunar calendar, Tanabata is still celebrated on August 7th in some regions of Japan, while it is celebrated on July 7th in other regions. |
| Third monday of July |
Ocean Day (umi no hi):
A recently introduced national holiday to celebrate the ocean. The day marks the return of Emperor Meiji from a boat trip to Hokkaido in 1876. |
| July/August 13-15 |
Obon:
Obon is a festival to commemorate the deceased ancestors. |
| Third monday of September |
Respect for the Aged Day (keiro no hi):
Respect for the elderly and longlivity is celebrated on this national holiday. |
| September 23 |
Autum Equinox Day (shubun no hi):
Graves are visited during the week (ohigan) of the Equinox Day. The day itself is a national holiday. |
| Second monday of October |
Health and Sports Day (taiiku no hi):
On that day 1964, the Olympic games of Tokyo were opened. |
| November 3 |
Culture Day (bunka no hi):
A day for promotion of culture and the love for freedom and peace. On the culture day, schools and the government award certain persons for their special, cultural activities. |
| November 15 |
Seven-Five-Three (shichigosan):
A festival for children, it is not a national holiday. |
| November 23 |
Labour Thanksgiving Day (kinro kansha no hi):
A national holiday for honoring labour. |
| December 23 |
Emperor's Birthday (tenno no tanjobi):
The birthday of the current emperor is always a national holiday. If the emperor changes, the national holiday changes to the birthday date of the new emperor. |
| December 24-25 |
Christmas:
Christmas is not a national holiday, but it is celebrated by an increasing number of Japanese. |
