Holidays in Japan

As my first Halloween in more than twelve years approaches, I realize that Japan does not celebrate many of the holidays the North Americans do, such as Halloween or Thanksgiving (then again, neither do the Brits, or anyone outside of North America!); I reverse thought about all the holidays and festivities that I will miss by not being in Japan.

One of the things that made working in Japan quite pleasant was the sheer number of national holidays - fifteen per year. That is not including the regular summer O-bon holidays. But more striking to me than just having a day off work, I liked the reasons behind these holidays. For example, in March (around the 20th), there is Shunbunnohi (春分の日）、and in September, Shubunnohi (秋分の日) - the spring and autumn equinox. Now who else has days off work to recognize the equinox?

And like North America, there are also numerous events and festivals and celebrations that are not actually holidays - such as Setsubun (節分) on February 3rd. This festival is to celebrate the beginning of spring, and is now largely for kids. They cast beans while shouting, 'oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!' ('Demons out! Happiness in!'); in temples and shrines, someone may dress as the demon to be chased away.

Even though I'm no longer in Japan, I will definitely continue to recognize and appreciate the customs - let's face it, throwing beans to make sure the devil is gone with winter can never be bad luck!

For a complete list of Japanese Holidays and events, visit the Japan Guide here http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2062.html