^-^The History of Children's Day ^_^

The History of Children's Day

While originally imported from China, the Boy's Festival has changed dramatically over the years. May 5th was originally adopted as a festival for boys corresponding to the Doll Festival for girls. However, gradually, the day became a joint day for all children and was renamed Children's Day in 1948 and made a national holiday. Despite this renaming, the symbols of courage and strength really honour only boys and girls are still celebrated in March.
At the end of April and the beginning of May, along with the Children's Day Festival, there are a number of other public holidays; the 29th April is Midori no Hi (Greenery Day), the 1st May is May Day, the 3rd May is Kenpoo Kinenbi (Constitution Day) and the May 5th is Kodomo no Hi (Children's Day). As such, it is common to get holidays for the entire week to 10 days depending on where the weekends fall. This succession of holidays is known as Golden Week.
While this profusion of festivals means there is a lot to see and do throughout Japan at this time, it is really a time to avoid travelling as many Japanese use the break to travel both within Japan and overseas and trains and other transport are packed past capacity.