Children’s Day

May 5th is called Children’s Day in Japan and is a national holiday which is part of “Golden Week”. Originally it was a festival for boys just as March 3rd is a festival for girls and there are still many traditions for sons, such as extending koi nobori (carp banners) outside the house and displaying samurai armor inside, both symbolizing strength, and also taking a bath with iris plants in it. The iris is called “shobu” in Japanese and this means “contest” and thus the sons are invited to do their best to compete for the future.
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