Picked up the lovely Japanese Kitty and will move her on very soon to a place we know she will very much enjoy.
In Japan, children who are three years old are thought to be very lucky, so are children who are five or seven. On the 15th November families who have children of these ages take part in a very old festival. This festival is called Shichi-Go-San or Seven-Five-Three. It is for boys who are three or five years old and for girls who are three or seven.
On this day the children dress in their best clothes, most follow the old customs and wear their traditional kiminos which are brightly coloured robes made of cotton or silk. Every child has a long narrow paper bag which is decorated with pictures usually of a pine tree, a tortoise and a crane. These are symbols of youth and long life. When everyone is ready, the families go to a shrine where they give thanks for the good health of the children - they also ask for a blessing for the future health and happiness of the children.
Outside the shrine there are stalls where the parents buy sweets and toys to fill the children's paper bags. When the families return home the children give some of the sweets to visiting friends and relations. In return the children and often given presents. Finally, the day may end with a party.
I hope you enjoyed finding out about this festival, Kitty.
This entry was edited by arjae on Friday, 20 January 2012 at 11:08:46 UTC.