Every year on May 5, exactly two months and two days after the day Japanese families celebrate their little girls (reported in the last issue of the Monitor), the country’s little boys get to have their special day.
      At least, that was the way it was officially until 1948. The tradition is believed to date back to the Nara Period (710—794 AD) and the tango no sekku festival, which marked the beginning of summer and in which families celebrated the growth of strong, healthy boys. Then, in 1948, the government decreed the day should be made a national holiday celebrating the growth and happiness of all children, and the devotion of their mothers. The new holiday was named kodomo no hi—Children’s Day.
      However, the ancient traditions are still cherished. In the days before May 5, families with young children raise koinobori banners shaped like carps, traditional symbols of luck and prosperity. While the banners flutter en masse in the wind above every neighborhood, houses are meticulously cleaned and special ornaments appear in living rooms and entrances. Then, on the
big day, families gather to enjoy kashiwa-mochi, sweet rice cakes wrapped in oak leaves, with much gusto.
      The ornaments, in particular, reveal why this day is still seen by many as the boys’ special day—a traditional kabuto helmet, worn by samurai warriors in battle, and a doll of the legendary hero Kintaro, who as a child was famous for his Herculean strength. Both symbolize a strong and healthy boy.
      Whether you choose to see this day as Boy’s Day or Children’s Day, May 5 remains a wonderful celebration of the little ones’ joy of life, and the love and hopes of the parents.