5/5 Children's Day
Kodomo no hi (こどものひ) is a Japanese national holiday which takes place annually on May 5, the fifth day of the fifth month, during the Golden Week period. It is a day set aside to respect children's personalities and to celebrate their happiness.
Before this day, families raise the carp-shaped Koinobori flags, one for each boy (or child), display a Kintarō doll usually riding on a large carp, and the traditional Japanese military helmet, Kabuto. Kintarō and the kabuto are symbols of a strong and healthy boy.
Kintarō (金太郎) is the childhood name of Sakata no Kintoki who was a hero in the Heian period, a subordinate samurai of Minamoto no Raikou, having been famous for his strength when he was a child. It is said that Kintarō rode a bear, instead of a horse, and played with animals in the mountains when he was a young boy.
Mochi rice cakes wrapped in kashiwa oak leaves — kashiwa-mochi and chimaki — are traditionally served on this day...........
[ quoted from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boys'_Day ]
5/5 Children's Day
Kodomo no hi (こどものひ) is a Japanese national holiday which takes place annually on May 5, the fifth day of the fifth month, during the Golden Week period. It is a day set aside to respect children's personalities and to celebrate their happiness.
Before this day, families raise the carp-shaped Koinobori flags, one for each boy (or child), display a Kintarō doll usually riding on a large carp, and the traditional Japanese military helmet, Kabuto. Kintarō and the kabuto are symbols of a strong and healthy boy.
Kintarō (金太郎) is the childhood name of Sakata no Kintoki who was a hero in the Heian period, a subordinate samurai of Minamoto no Raikou, having been famous for his strength when he was a child. It is said that Kintarō rode a bear, instead of a horse, and played with animals in the mountains when he was a young boy.
Mochi rice cakes wrapped in kashiwa oak leaves — kashiwa-mochi and chimaki — are traditionally served on this day...........
[ quoted from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boys'_Day ]