02: Coming of Age Day ( Second Monday of January )
Coming of Age Day (second Monday of January) Coming of Age Day (成人の日 Seijin no Hi) was designated a national holiday after WWII, in 1948. Originally it was celebrated on January 15th. From 1999, however, when the “Happy Monday System” was put in place, the day of the holiday was moved to the second Monday of January.
On Seijin no Hi people all over Japan whose twentieth birthday falls in the current school year, which runs from April to March, mark their passage into adulthood through the Coming of Age Ceremony (成人式, seijinshiki). The modern seijinshiki at age twenty carries on the long historical tradition of such ceremonies in Japan, dating back to the Heian period, which ended over 800 years ago. In present-day Japan, twenty is the minimum legal age for voting, drinking, and smoking.
In addition to the young men and women who will become adults, whole communities are involed in celebrating the the seijinshiki. The ceremony is often held in a local government building, and it is open to young residents of the area. When possible, people who have moved away or gone off to university will try to come back to experience their seijinshiki in their hometowns. At the ceremony, local government officials and other people give speeches, and the new adults receive some presents.
For the new adults Seijin no Hi is a very important day, and so they dress up accordingly. Women wear a very nice type of kimono (着物, traditional Japanese clothing), called furisode (振袖). Furisode are special kimonos with long sleeves and are only worn by un-married women on festive occasions. Because these kimono are very expensive (the price can easily exceed that of a new car), they are often rented or inherited from their family. Men also used to wear a kimono, over which they wore a hakama (袴, a pleated skirt-like trousers) and a haori (羽織, a half-length Japanese coat), but nowadays many of them wear a formal suit. Putting on a kimono is a very complicated and difficult task and therefore many women go to a beauty salon, not only to get dressed, but also to have their hair and make-up done.
When the official Coming of Age Ceremony is over, the new adults go out for drinking and partying till late in the evening. Almost everywhere in town, in restaurants and cafes, on the trains and buses, you can find these young people enjoying their special day.
