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Show Japanese Festivals Although J aj an has, in the last hall century, undergone great changes in certain outward appearances, she is still the old Japan as far as festivals are concerned. Every Japanese loves a festival, of which there are many. Expressing as they do the mythical, religious, patriotic, and beauty-1 ovi ng qualities of the race, these festivals have much meaning. Quite probably the greatest of annual occasions for merry-making is the ushering in the New Year. The celebration lasts not only a day, or, more accurately, a night, as in the United States, but the whole of the first week, and lingers till the end of the month. The occasion is marked by the serving of special New Years dishes, the most important being "oz-oni'VIn the making of this popular delicacy a certain kind of rice is steamed, pounded to a smooth mass, shaped into cakes, and then is cooked with vegetables in a kind of stew. Another dish, served on the morning of the seventh day, is rice cooked extremely soft, with young tender greens. Every gate or doorway is adorned with a pine tree, which is the New Year's greeting of welcome. Everyone wears his best clothes and broadest smile, and even small children are taught to say a formal greeting At this time of year the poetry contest is being conducted, a national custom existent perhaps only in Japan.' Each year, a few weeks before New Year's Day, the Emperor designates a subject, on which anyone may write a thirty-one syllable poem to be read before the court. The finest poets in the country act as the judges, and the winner is of course greatly honored. At the end of the Cold Period, about the second of February, the people make merry, scattering toasted soy beans around the house. It is said that one modern family uses chocolate kisses. The third day of the third month is the date of the Girls' Fe s t i va 1 , when in every home tiers are arranged to display the family dolls. Peach blossoms and refreshments for the dolls are also an important part of the display. About the time of the spring equinox most of the farmer's planting is done, and the ceremonies of ancestor worship are fittingly performed at this time. April 29 is the Emperor's birthday, a national holiday. The eightyeighth day after the end of the Cold Period, or the first of May, marks the day when one is to enjoy all nature, especially the brilliant green of the ends of rice shoots. Then on May 5 comes the Boys' Festival. It was at this time that Lafcadio Ilearn fell in iove with Japan on seeing the spectacular paper lags streaming in the wind, strips of colored silk fluttering from hoops, likenesses of heroes, and w i ndmi 1 1 -1 i ke affairs with bells, all hanging from poles above the housetops. In addition all manner of kites crowd the sky, some with a rubber - like material from whales stretched on the frame to make the kite hum in the wind, others with ground glass on the twine cut the lines of the others. It is a wonderful time for the boys. There is an old legend of two lover stars, the man leading a cow and the wimin weaving, who through some misdeed were allowed to meet only once a year in the Milky Way. Their meeting is the occasion for the star festival on the seventh of July. Slender bamboos are hung with poetry on strips of paper which are cut in various designs, and threads are hung by those desiring to become proficient in sewing. Red bean lanterns, as the small red lanterns are called, are hung about, and melons, corn, and sweet potatoes are given an honored place by tie side of the bamboo tree. Late in July comes a time when girls of nineteen are said to attain happiness if they are given cakes of rice by their friends. Uu October 17, the new rice is offered at the Shrine of Ise to the Goddess Amaterasn, the mother of all emperors and of the Japanese race. On November 29 the new rice is first eaten by the Emperor. Most sacred is the Meijo Memorial Day on November 3, which day is in remembrance of the great emperor who ruled Japan for forty-five years (18G71912). Kis gardens, with the chrysanthemums at their best, are visited on that day by the high officials of the country. Next comes the holiday so al 1-important to western ch i 1 d r en--Chr i s tmas time. It seems the Buddhist Japanese also found the Christmas spirit irresistible, and added one more to their list of holidays. To be honest, these festivals occupy less of the time and thought of the people than formerly, and yet, simple and superstitious though some may be, they are truly charming, truly Japanese, and will likely run their course of popularity through untold centuries. --Kiyoko Oria --0-- GRADUATE'S IMPRESSION (continued from preceding page) subject to practical jokes, to what extent Aaron will allow a "little fun", how to "polish apples", etc. An' say, that cheerleader is a wow! With him behind the megaphone anybody would split a tonsil. Tie could force a yell out of a dumb waiter. Say, by the way, would anyone like to buy a good diploma cheap? --Robert Jones |