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Answers of Japanese Celebrations

Shogatsu (New Year)

New year is the biggest annual celebration in Japan. On New Year's Day families gather and eat special meals called "osechi ryori." People visit Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples to pray for good fortune in the coming year. Children receive small gifts of money, called "otoshidama," from their relatives. Traditional games like "karuta" (played with cards usually featuring well-known poems on them) are enjoyed. People send New Year's cards called "nengajo" to their friends and acquaintances from work.

Setsubun (Last Day of Winter)

Setsubun is a word meaning "dividing the seasons." It is celebrated on February 3 to mark the end of winter. People scatter roasted soybeans throughout the house and sweep them out the door along with bad luck as they chant "Out with demons, in with good luck!" It is traditional to eat one bean for each year of one's age on this holiday to prevent sickness and accidents in the coming year.

Hinamatsuri (Doll Festival)

This celebration is held on March 3 each year to celebrate the female children in a family. Beautiful dolls in ancient costumes are displayed on a staircase-shaped set of shelves. The dolls represent the old emperor, empress, and members of the imperial court. Special foods eaten on this day include diamond-shaped rice cakes and sweetened white sake.

Kodomo no Hi (Children's Day)

This holiday used to celebrate the male children in a family and corresponded to Hinamatsuri for girls, but now it is called Children's Day to wish for the health and happiness of all children. Dolls of ancient warriors are displayed in the house, and "koinobori," large streamers shaped like carp, are hung outside to blow in the breeze. The carp is a symbol of strength and success.

Tanabata Festival

This July 7 festival is based on an old Chinese legend. The cowherd boy (the star Altair) and the weaver girl (the star Vega) were lovers separated by a river (the Milky Way) who could only meet each other once a year on this day. Children write wishes on strips of colored paper, hang them on bamboo branches, and hope for a clear sky so they can make their wishes to the lover stars on the night of their reunion. There are very elaborate Tanabata celebrations in some areas.

Obon (Bon Festival)

This is an important Buddhist festival celebrated around August 13 to 15 to honor a family's ancestors. Their spirits are traditionally thought to come back to visit at this time, and families welcome them with displays and offerings at altars and gravesites. Paper lanterns are displayed in the streets and often floated down rivers. People take trips to their hometowns and dance in a large ring around a platform where musicians and singers perform.

Shichi-go-san (Seven-Five-Three Festival)

This holiday takes place on November 15 each year. It is held to celebrate boys who are five and girls who are three and seven years old. The children dress up in their best Japanese clothes for a visit to a Shinto shrine to pray for a long, healthy life. Long ago, these ages were thought to be especially unlucky for children, and their parents tried to protect them through this festival.

Omisoka (New Year's Eve)

Everyone stays up until midnight to greet the new year, and many of them visit a local Buddhist temple to hear the bell rung 108 times to clear away the evils of the past year. It is also common to eat "toshikoshi soba" (year-crossing noodles) for good luck; people hope their families' lives and good fortunes will be long like the noodles.