Ashita, watashi no gakkou ni open house ga arimasu.
I'm planning to go!!!! ;D
I'll be there around 12:30-1:00 pm.
I'm going to bring one of my magazines and one of my Hey!Say!JUMP calendars. ^_^
Also, I'm going to wear my kimono!!!! ><
Anoo, jaa ne minna!!!!
Health and Sports Day (体育の日, Taiiku no hi), also known as Health-Sports Day or Sports Day, is a national holiday in Japan held annually on the second Monday in October. It commemorates the opening of the 1964 Summer Olympics being held in Tokyo, and exists to promote sports and an active lifestyle.
History and Current Practice
The first Health and Sports Day was held on October 10, 1966, two years after the 1964 Summer Olympics. October was chosen for the unusually late Summer Olympics to avoid the Japanese rainy season, and Health and Sports Day continues to be one of the fairest days of the year.[1]
In 2000, as a result of the Happy Monday Seido, Health and Sports Day was moved to the second Monday in October.[2]
As Health and Sports Day is a day to promote sports and physical and mental health, many schools and businesses choose this day to hold their annual Field Day (運動会, Undō-kai), or sports day. This typically consists of a range of physical events ranging from more traditional track-and-field events such as the 100 meters or 4 x 100 meters relay to more uncommon events such as the tug of war and the Mock Cavalry Battle (騎馬戦, Kiba-sen).
Most communities and school across Japan celebrate Sports Day with a sports festival which is similar to a mini Olympics. These festivals include many of the traditional track and field events, such as 4 x 100m relay, 100m sprinting, and long jump, as well as many other events. Some of the events include: ball toss, tug-o-war, rugby-ball dribbling races, sack races, and so on. Another common event is often simply called the “exciting relay”, which is an obstacle course relay including any number of different challenges: Three-legged races, making a stretcher with a blanket and bamboo poles and then carrying an “injured” teammate, laundry hanging, crawling on hands and knees under a net, and doing cartwheels across a mat.
The festival usually begins around 8:30 am with a parade featuring all the different teams that will be participating: it could be divided by neighborhood, class, geographic area, or school. There is sometimes a local marching band providing music. Once the parade has gone around the field and lined up in the middle, the band will play the Japanese National Anthem and the Japanese flag will be raised. Local officials will make speeches welcoming everyone. Often everyone will spread out across the grounds for group stretching (this stretching routine was developed by the government and is done daily by many Japanese people; the stretching routine music is broadcast daily on the radio and TV). Then it’s time to start the events.
Every event has prizes for the winners, usually something useful for around the house such as boxes of tissues, laundry detergent, dish soap, hand soap, saran wrap, and so on. Around 12:00 noon, the events will take a pause for lunch and sometimes traditional dancing. Lunch is usually a small Japanese Lunchbox called Bentō, including rice, fish, stewed vegetables, sushi, onigiri (rice balls) and other small Japanese treats.
As with the Olympics, the final event of the day is the 4 x 100m relay or 100m sprint. Following this, the points totals are tallied and the ending ceremony involves congratulatory speeches by local officials and the handing out of prizes to the top teams.
References in popular culture
* In Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto, the titular character, Naruto Uzumaki's birthday was chosen to be October 10th because it was previously Health and sports day, and the character is extremely hyper and over-energetic.
Kyoo san-ban no Nihon no kurabu no officer meeting ga arimashita. (Today, we had our third Japan Club officer meeting.
We talked about open house and our next Japan Club meeting.
We're planning to do Bishie (short for bishonen which means 'pretty boy') of the Day like last year and add etiquette to our meetings.
We might give lessons about Japanese sentence structure and/or vocabulary. ^_^
Anoo, jaa ne minna!!!! (well, see you soon everyone)
Kyoo (today), we talked about getting pen pals from our sister school in Japan during our first Japan Club meeting.
YATTA!!!!
I'm so excited!!!!
Hopefully, I would be able to understand what my pen pal is saying in her letters (in this case, e-mails).
I wonder if my pen pal and I get to write snail mail, too!!!! ^_^
Love snail mail!!!! ><
Anoo, bai bai minna!!!! (well, bye bye everyone)
Konban wa minna!!!! (good afternoon everyone)
Ashita, ichiban no Nihon no kurabu no meeting ga arimasu. (tomorrow, there will be the first Japan Club meeting)
Wednesday, September 30th during hirugohan (lunch).
Yosha!!!! ;)
Respect-for-the-Aged Day
敬老の日
Keirō no hi
Third Monday of September (2009.09.21)
This is the day Japanese give thanks to old people for their long-year contribution to this country.
This national holiday was established in 1966 as a day to respect the elderly and celebrate long life. Originally held on September 15, it originated as a renaming of Old Folks' Day (老人の日, Rōjin no hi). In 2003, it was changed to the third Monday of September in accordance with the Happy Monday System.
Beginning in 2000, Japan implemented the Happy Monday System (ハッピーマンデー制度) which moved a number of national holidays to Monday in order to obtain a "long weekend".
Autumnal equinox
秋分の日
Shūbun no hi
Around September 23[2]
This is identical to the vernal equinox day in March. People make mothering, and eat the rice cakes, called o-hagi.
This national holiday was established in 1948 as a day on which to honor one's ancestors and remember the dead. Prior to 1948, the autumnal equinox was an imperial ancestor worship festival called Shūki kōrei-sai (秋季皇霊祭).
This is a link to the jigsaw puzzle of Chinen Yuri from Hey!Say!JUMP. ^_^
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