- May 5 is Children’s Day in Japan, when families celebrate the healthy growth and happiness of children.
- On Children’s Day, families fly huge carp-shaped streamers (koinobori) outside the house and display dolls of famous warriors and other heroes inside. The carp was chosen because it symbolizes strength and success; according to a legend, a carp swam upstream to become a dragon.
- Also on this day, families often take baths sprinkled with iris leaves and roots. This is because the iris is thought to promote good health and ward off evil.
- Rice cakes wrapped in oak leaves and filled with sweet adzuki bean paste, called kashiwamochi, are also eaten.
Koinobori
Koi – Japanese for Carp
Nobori – Japanese for flag
And this is Joseph’s Koinobori:
Beautiful Joseph!