こどもの日

5th of May is こどもの日, which is the Children's Day, in Japan. It is also called たんごのせっく.
Originally it used to be the Boys' Festival. In 1948, however, it was changed into a day to celebrate all children's growth and happiness and designated a national holiday by the government. It is said that the tradition of celebrating boys' growth on 5th of May originally comes from China. On Children's day, families with boys display こいのぼり(a flying carps), むしゃにんぎょう(Samurai doll) and かぶと(a war helmet) praying for boys' healthy growth, strength and success in the future. むしゃにんぎょう and かぶと are symbols of fighting and strength, while こいのぼり is a symbol of future success as there is an old Chinese legend of a carp, which swam against the strong streem and became a dragon.


=== かしわもち === かしわもち is a rice cake wraped with Kashiwa oak leaf with sweet red bean paste inside. Kashiwa oak tree is said to be a lucky charm for prosperity as its leaves do not fall off unless new leaves grow up.




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しょうぶゆ(sweet flag bath)
On Children's Day, people take bath with しょうぶ(a sweet flag). May is the season of a sweet flag and it is used as a medicine to prevent people from sickness in ancient China. Also, as しょうぶ(a sweet flag) has the same sound as しょうぶ(a match / a fighting) in Japanese, it became a symbol of strength. People enjoy the scent of a sweet flag bath while praying that their boys grow to be strong.


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