Festivals and Holidays July-September

July:
Tanabata  Star Festival
This is a traditional festival centring around the legend of two star-crossed lovers who were separated by the Milky Way and can reunite once a year, on the 7th day of the 7th month. If the skies are clear, they will meet. If it rains the Milky Way will flood, they will not reunite, and will have to wait another year to meet.

The custom is for people to write their wishes and romantic aspirations on tanzaku, strips of poetry paper of various colours, and hang them off bamboo leaves, creating a wish tree.

Tanabata Song:
The bamboo leaves rustle,
shaking away in the eaves.
The stars twinkle
on the gold and silver grains of sand.
The five-colour paper strips
I have already written.
The stars twinkle
they watch up from heaven.

There are celebrations all over Japan on this day including parades, food stalls and fireworks.

Umi no hi Sea Day
Celebrated on the third Monday in July, referred to as Sea Day or Marine Day, this is a national holiday. People give thanks to the ocean, while considering the importance it has to Japan, being an island nation. Aquariums offer discounted admittance and hold special events.

A great number of people celebrate this holiday by heading to the beach. Most beaches open specifically for this holiday and there are a considerable number to choose from.




August:
Mountain Day
Celebrated on August 11, this is a new holiday to Japan. The purpose of this day is for people to appreciate the blessings of mountains. Mt. Fuji's climbing season is from the beginning of July to mid-September so climbing Fuji is a perfect way to spend the day.

Obon Matsuri (Festival of Souls)
Typically held in mid-August, Obon is one of the three major holiday seasons for travel in Japan (along with New Year's and Golden Week). Obon is a Buddhist custom honouring the spirits of ancestors who make a brief return to Earth to visit their relatives. People return to their hometown where they will visit graves, give offerings of food, hang lanterns outside the home, and do anything to help make the visit of their ancestors as pleasant as possible.

Cleaning the gravesite is a common practice

Obon typically lasts for three days and on the last night, the departure of ancestral spirits is marked with fire. An offering burns outside of homes called a mukaebi.

Hanabi Fireworks
Originally used to ward off evil spirits, fireworks have  a long history in Japan and have become an integral part of Japanese summers. Hundreds of firework shows take place across the country in summer months, drawing thousands of people. I've watched the Windsor-Detroit firework show held at the Detroit River every June, and although impressive, nothing compares to the fireworks in Japan. The shows typically start after sunset and last for 1-2 hours.

At firework celebrations, there are numerous food stalls selling a variety of popular treats. Some items are familiar as they are common at fairs in Canada. Cotton candy or watame, corn-on-a-stick (same as a cob of corn), and choco banana, a banana on a stick dipped in chocolate are just a few. Japanese love their crepes (no translation needed) and that is usually the busiest stall. Here are some other foods you can find:

Kakigori shaved ice with syrup

Yakisoba 

Yakitori 

The word yaki means to cook over heat.
It appears in a few Japanese dishes and the
most popular for foreigners is likely teriyaki. 
Yakisoba (fried noodles) and yakitori (grilled chicken skewers) are both very common at food stalls.





This time of year is hot and muggy so people wear yukata, a lighter cotton kimono. The yukata is still traditional but not as heavy as the silk kimono. Most people carry a handheld fan to try to keep cool.

My friend Yuko (left) with her niece and sister
in yukata on their way to the fireworks. 

The Japanese always put on a spectacular fireworks display. The fireworks sometimes take on shapes such as hearts, cartoon characters, or the letters of the alphabet.

September:
Keiro no hi (Respect for the Aged Day)
Celebrated on the third Monday in September, this is a national holiday and a day to pay respect to elders. It's a way to thank them for their contribution to society as well as celebrating longevity. With better healthcare, there is an increase in the elder community in Japan. This day is much more important than North America's Grandparents Day. Many communities will throw a party and offer gifts to the elders.

If someone is fortunate enough to live to the age of 100, the government will send a commemorative silver sake cup. Due to the large number of centenarians, they make have to change the cup to a cheaper model, as it is too expensive to gift 30,000+ people with the cups.

Autumnal Equinox is celebrated on September 22.  On this day, we say goodbye to Summer and hello to Fall. Not much in the way of celebrating...most are just happy to have a day off of work.

Stay tuned for the next (and final) instalment of festivals and holidays.

~MT