Boys festival

Boys festival is celebrated on May 5th in Japan it is called "tango no sekku". It's been celebrated for over a milennium. Originally it was celebrated in the house of warriors. It celebrated boys cousage and determination. Many of the symbols of this day are about having a character of a warrior. Eventually this day became important for all of the households with boys.

After WWII, boys festival became toned down. This holiday officially became known as children's day Japanese call it Kodomo no hi. It's supposed to be a day to celebrate the health and happiness of all children but many people still see it as boys festival 

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Large carp wind socks called koinobori, are displayed outside houses of families with boys. There's one windsock for each boy in the house.

The carp is a symbol of tango no sekku, because carp are considered strong and determined. They're able to swim upstream against the flow of the water. This is a day for families to celebrate their sons strength and and character.

Warrior dolls and helmets,armor and swords are also displayed in houses with boys.

 

The symbolic flower of tango no sekku is a type of iris called shobu. The shobu has long leaves that resemble swords. Boys traditionally take shobu baths on this day. The shobu is so important for this day that sometimes the festival is called shobu no sekku or iris festival.

One of the traditional food eaten is kashiwa mochi. It's a rice cake steamed with sweet beans and wrapped in an oak leaf. Another traditional food eaten is chimaki, which is rice wrapped in bamboo leaves.