Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Seven, five, and three... What do these numbers mean? ーJapanese traditional ceremonyー

Children's growth is all parents' wish. And each cultures has its own ways to celebrate or pray for it. In Japan, we also have several traditional ceremonies to wish children's healthy growth and their longlife.

Last weekend my family took my nephew to a shrine to celebrate his 七五三(しちごさん)/shichigosan/. It's one of traditional events to celebrate children's growth and pray for their future health and well-being.

If you've learned some basic Kanji already, you would have found that this celebration is named with 3 numbers --7, 5 and 3. It indicates children's age. This ceremony is for 3 and 5 year old boys, and 3 and 7 year old girls. My adorable nephew turned 3 this year :) He dressed up in Japanese traditional clothes and had a Shinto ritual.



After 七五三 ceremony, we went to our uncle's studio (he's a photographer!) and took commemorative pictures.


*Japanese Word of the Day*
ハイ(はい)、チーズ(ちーず)!
/hai, chiizu/
Say, cheese!