Children's Day (Korea and Japan)
Next: May 5, 2027
Carp in the sky, children at play.
The story
Where it comes from
Korea and Japan both give 5 May to children. In Korea the idea came from Bang Jeong-hwan, a writer of children's stories, who with his colleagues held the first Children's Day in 1923 and asked adults to treat children as people in their own right. After 1945 the day settled on 5 May, and it has been a public holiday since the 1970s. Japan's day grew from Tango no Sekku, a festival on the fifth day of the fifth month; a 1948 law made it Kodomo no Hi, a day to respect children, wish them happiness and thank mothers.
How it's celebrated
In Japan, families fly koinobori, carp-shaped streamers that swim in the wind above homes and rivers, set out a samurai helmet or warrior doll, eat kashiwa-mochi rice cakes wrapped in oak leaves and take a bath with iris leaves for good health. In Korea, Eorininal is a family outing: parents take children to parks, zoos and amusement parks and give them presents, while schools and the government hold events at which the Children's Charter is read aloud.
Did you know
- Bang Jeong-hwan championed eorini, a respectful Korean word for children, so that the young would be spoken of with the same dignity as adults.
- The carp on koinobori come from a Chinese legend of a carp that swam up a waterfall and became a dragon, a wish that children will grow up strong and determined.
- Tango is written 端午, the same characters as China's Duanwu, the Dragon Boat Festival, which is still held on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.
The greeting
Happy Children's Day · 즐거운 어린이날 보내세요 · こどもの日おめでとう
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